Early Morning Crash Kills One Mendota Man, Injures Another

An early morning crash killed one Mendota man and seriously injured another after 1:00 Tuesday.

LaSalle County Coroner William Wujek says 20-year old Alonzo Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene of the rollover crash along Route 251 in Mendota.

Police say the driver, 33-year old Brian Burress from Mendota, was ejected from the vehicle. He would eventually be taken via life flight to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford.

The accident is still under investigation by both the County Coroner’s Office and Illinois State Police.

Dehumidifier may have started rural fire

Apparently a dehumidifier had been working too long and may have been the cause of a Tuesday morning fire.  The Dekalb County Sheriff’s office says Shabbona and Paw Paw firemen came to 1785 south Paw Paw Road in rural Earlville to extinguish a small fire about 9:20am.

The home owner was home at the time, but there were no injuries. No other details were listed.

Park Visitors Center gets 7600 visitors last Saturday

Last weekend’s attendance at Starved Rock not as strong as in previous weeks.   Whether it’s the end of summer,  the weather or school opening isn’t known. Park office coordinator Sheryl Barto told “Classic Hits 103-9 WLPO” about 44,600 were in the park over this past weekend. One year ago, on August first and second, some 37,000 came through the park.

Roughly 1/3 of those entering Starved Rock last weekend are going through the visitors center.  Barto said last Saturday, the Center handled 7600 in about 6 hours.

At Matthiessen State Park last weekend 9000 walked the trails.  That’s about roughly 4500 each day.

Woman Accused of Hiding Bow Used in Father’s Day Murder to Appear in Court

A Varna man may not be the only one facing jail time after the bow-and-arrow murder of an Oglesby man on Father’s Day of last year.

Nineteen-year old Rachel Milton from Ottawa is due in court Thursday for a status update on charges stemming from her role in the fatal shooting. Milton is accused of being with 23-year old Bradley French during the events that led to 38-year old Joshua Scaman’s death. French testified during his trial last week that after the shooting Milton would leave the scene to allegedly get rid of the bow.

Police arrested Milton the day after the shooting. She has been charged with obstruction of justice by destroying evidence, which is a felony. Milton has since posted bond and been released.

Despite allegedly being present at the scene of the murder, Milton was notably not called on to testify during French’s trial last week. He was convicted of first-degree murder and faces up to 60 years in prison.