VIRGIL TOWNSHIP – A man who lost part of his leg in a motorcycle crash last weekend is alive, albeit in serious condition, after a Campton Hills police officer used limited resources to prevent the man from bleeding to death.

But Officer Elliot Rose, 30, emphasized it took a team effort by Maple Park and Countryside Fire Protection District personnel, KaneComm dispatchers and hospital medical staff members to save the man’s life.

“This should have been a fatality,” Rose said Monday.

Rose, an officer with the Campton Hills Police Department and paramedic of 12 years, received notice of the one-vehicle crash on Route 64 near Fabris Road in Virgil Township about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

Upon arrival, Rose found Steven Allen on the ground, with the bottom half of Allen’s left leg about 20 feet from his body, Rose said.

The man’s friend and fellow motorcyclist had tried to stop the bleeding with a bandana, Rose said, but blood was spurting from an artery. Using gauze and an ink pen, Rose said he was able to clamp off the artery and stop the bleeding.

Although Rose has encountered similar limb-removal situations as a paramedic, he never had been in such a situation as a police officer with limited tools, he said. Often, he noted, people in these situations don’t survive before help arrives.

Maple Park medical personnel transported Allen to Delnor Hospital, where he received blood before being flown to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Rose said.

Rod Johnson, assistant chief of the Maple Park and Countryside Fire Protection District, said seven of his personnel responded to the scene.

Their scene time – the length of time between arrival to the time they went to the hospital – was eight minutes. They typically aim for 20 minutes or less, he said.

“It makes you feel good that the training we do is very helpful,” Johnson said.

A spokesperson from Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital said Monday that Allen is in serious condition.

The Kane County Sheriff’s Office handled the crash. Spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said details of the crash were not readily available Monday, but it appears to have involved a single motorcycle with one occupant.

Rose said he plans to study medicine at Midwestern University. He wants to become an emergency room physician.