Bernard Sawtelle Obituary, Death – The identity of the person who was riding a bicycle at the time of the tragic accident that took place on Wednesday afternoon has been uncovered. This person tragically lost their life in the collision that took place. The identity of the person who passed away has been revealed to be that of Bernard Sawtelle, a native and resident of Rockford who was 43 years old, as reported by the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office. Sawtelle was located inside of his residence.
Sawtelle was riding his bicycle in the 800 block of Brooke Rd. on Wednesday at approximately 12:30 p.m. when he was struck by a pickup truck, as stated by both the Coroner’s Office and the Rockford Police Department. Sawtelle died as a result of his injuries. Sawtelle was found to be unresponsive at the scene of the accident. Sawtelle’s injuries were too severe for him to recover from, and he passed away as a result.
Sawtelle was discovered by the police underneath the vehicle, where she was pinned down after the truck had collided with a pole and caused the accident. Prior to the incident, Rockford native Todd Norton, who is now 52 years old, was operating the truck that was involved in the collision. Sawtelle was extricated from the truck, and as soon as emergency personnel arrived on the scene, they started providing her with lifesaving treatment. Sawtelle was able to recover completely from her injuries. Sawtelle was transported in an ambulance to a nearby hospital while he was unresponsive, and the medical staff there later confirmed that he had passed away. Sawtelle was found to have passed away.
Sawtelle had suffered blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen, as discovered by the findings of an autopsy that was performed on her by the Coroner’s Office on Thursday. The autopsy was performed on Sawtelle. The Rockford Police Department has charged Norton with four counts of aggravated driving while under the influence of drugs that resulted in death. These charges are all related to the same event that occurred. Both the RPS and the Winnebago County Coroner’s Office are currently carrying on with their separate investigations into the collision that occurred earlier.