BELVIDERE, Ill. (AP) — A northern Illinois man whose family was recovering after last year’s Fairdale tornado destroyed their home has died in a forklift accident.
The Winnebago County coroner says 36-year-old Chris Thick died Tuesday, February 16, 2016, when a forklift slid backward off a truck and struck him. He was a forklift mechanic for Fitzgerald Equipment Co. in Rockford. Officials said the accident happened at Fastenal, a Belvidere manufacturer.
The Rockford Register Star reports that Thick and fiancee Jackie Jordan were rebuilding their lives in Belvidere after the Fairdale tornado destroyed their home. They have two sons who are ages 2 and 3 this year, and Thick had an 18-year-old son.
Jordan said Thick’s death was a shock. She says he was a “wonderful” man, good father and “would do anything for anyone.
The paper also reported a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for the family — the goal is $100,000 — says Thick was the “sole provider” for Jordan and the boys.