Bolingbrook police have confirmed that a woman is dead and a man hospitalized following a small plane crash Wednesday.
It happened at about 5:15 p.m. in the parking lot of a Chase Bank at 262 S. Weber Rd.
Police say the plane crashed into a tree, light pole and several vehicles.
Witnesses described hearing a loud noise and explosion when the plane struck the ground, followed by several smaller explosions.
"I heard a loud boom and I thought the sky was burning," Rivera said. "I thought one of the cars blew up, but witnesses told me it was actually a plane."
According to Mike Grohar, who works at a store next to the bank, the survivor of the crash was the pilot.
"The pilot was getting out of the plane and was on fire and went down to the ground and two gentleman came over and put him out with their jackets and we got him to roll away from the plane, and as he was rolling away, asked us if we could find his wife, that his wife was still in there," Grohar said. "He was pretty bad but he was talking before the paramedics got there, we kept talking to him and tried to keep him coherent."
The pilot was taken to Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital in critical condition and later transported via helicopter to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with severe burns. His passenger was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:45 p.m.
The accident scene is located a few blocks from Clow International Airport, and police say it was attempting to land when the accident occurred.
Photos from scene of plane crash in suburban #Chicago from @SenBeatz pic.twitter.com/6OUYTxnESG
— Steve Grzanich (@SteveGrzanich) September 25, 2013