Coroner identifies East Moline prison staffer, died from injuries while performing maintenance duties outside facility

EAST MOLINE, Ill. (KWQC) - The Rock Island County Coroner has identified the name of a prison staffer who died Tuesday from injuries suffered while performing maintenance duties outside of the East Moline prison facility.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson identified the employee who died as Christopher A. James, 48, of Savanna, Ill.

In a statement provided by the East Moline Correctional Center and Coroner Gustafson, they said James was pronounced dead Tuesday at Genesis Illini campus and an autopsy was conducted Wednesday with preliminary results indicating that James died from multiple traumatic injuries.

James was the East Moline Correctional Center’s Maintenance Craftsmen, and he began his career with the department in 2008, prison officials said. James started working at the East Moline Correctional Center in 2010 as a correctional officer and was promoted to maintenance craftsman in 2022.

The investigation is being conducted by the Illinois Department of Corrections and the coroner’s office with assistance from state police crime scene investigations unit, the statement concluded.

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