A 6-year-old Bolingbrook boy was killed Tuesday evening when he was swept into a storm drain by flooding from heavy rains, authorities said.
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The boy, identified as Mark Fornek of the 800 block of Wescott Road, was sucked into the drain near his home about 5:30 p.m. He was taken to Edward Hospital in Naperville, where he was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m., according to a hospital spokeswoman. Details about the precise cause of death were unavailable.
The boy’s body was found about a half-mile south of the drain.
Two neighbors in Bolingbrook said some residents have complained to village officials about the open drain, which they describe as about 15 inches wide.
“There’s no need for this,” said neighbor Tom Benz. “One cover–that’s all it needs. This could have happened to any of our kids.”
Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said village officials would hold a closed meeting Wednesday morning to discuss the case.
“It’s a tragedy that will be investigated thoroughly once the waters subside,” Claar said.
The incident occurred between 901 and 907 Wescott Rd. while Mark was playing with a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, Bolingbrook police said. Mark was playing with a toy boat in 2 or 3 feet of water near the drain, police said.
Other neighbors said that they usually have no problem with drains in the neighborhood and that the streets and sewers are new and in good repair. The drain runs from a large field down to a small reservoir and park.
“It’s higher ground (by the field), so water rushes down the drain,” said neighbor Steven Medows, who has lived there for five years. “We usually have no problems with the drains.”
The fatality was by far the most serious consequence of the heavy storms that dumped up to 6 inches of rain on parts of the Chicago area late Monday and early Tuesday.
The rainstorm drenched Will and southern Cook Counties, swelling creeks, flooding basements and sending cars careening across rain-choked roads.
The deluge, which stopped and started erratically, is expected to wreak havoc at least through Thursday.
Already, it has caused power outages for more than 11,000 Commonwealth Edison customers, forced delays and cancellations at O’Hare International and Midway Airports, shut down state roads and even flooded a Metra pedestrian tunnel in University Park.
“It certainly is what we would call a drought-breaker,” said Allan Morrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Luckily, the ground across the region was very dry, which allowed it to soak up most of the water and avert major flooding problems.”
But that arid ground may have reached its saturation level, especially in parts of southern Will County, where the downpour dumped as much as 6 inches in Manhattan and Monee Townships. And with the weather service forecasting more rain, that once-dehydrated land may not be able to sop up any more water.
“We are not predicting any major flooding, but if we see widespread rain in the areas that already experienced heavy rainfall, you could see some flooding problems,” Morrison said. “The possibility is definitely there.”
Until Tuesday’s storm, the Chicago region had seen only about 1.7 inches of rain during the last month or so, most of it coming during a quick and fierce shower that socked the area on July 3. The average July brings 3.66 inches of rain.
Because of Tuesday’s storm, the region may now find itself on the other end of that spectrum. Although most of the region saw only 1 to 4 inches of rain Monday night and Tuesday morning, Will County saw between 4 and 7 inches–equaling or surpassing the 4.22 inches expected during an average August.
The downpour–which, at some point, touched almost every area of the Chicago region–was part of a weather system spinning through Iowa. But the southern Will County townships of Monee and Manhattan saw the heaviest rainfall, weather service officials said.
By late Monday night, as heavy rains pummeled the area, streams, creeks and stormwater basins overflowed, pushing water onto streets and into basements.
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By 5 a.m. Tuesday the Illinois Department of Transportation closed a stretch of Governors Highway near Lincoln Highway.