Jacksonville Journal-Courier
SOUTH JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — A South Jacksonville Police officer has died after being involved in a traffic accident during a call late Friday.
Officer Scot Fitzgerald was responding to a call on Illinois Route 267 near Nortonville Road about 9 p.m. when he pulled onto the shoulder and then made a U-turn while trying to find a reported medical emergency, according to police reports. As he started to turn, his car went into the path of an ambulance responding to the same call, police said.
Fitzgerald, who joined the department full-time in November 2014, was taken to Passavant Area Hospital before being transferred to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. He later died of his injuries.
Three people from the ambulance were taken to Passavant, according to an Illinois State Police report: Ambulance driver Brady S. Milnes, 21, of Roodhouse and crew members Christopher Barfield, 44, of White Hall and Stacey Reyes, 40, of Beardstown.
“[The police department] stands in support of Officer Fitzgerald’s family during and long after this tragedy. Our hearts are broken,” South Jacksonville Police Chief Josh Hallock said.
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