U of I Police Officer w/Local Ties Dies from Crash Injuries

(AARON LANDERS)

An off-duty University of Illinois police lieutenant has died from injuries received in a crash Sunday evening in Champaign.

The victim, 50-year-old Aaron Landers, was the son of Effingham resident and retired city police officer Dave Landers.

Aaron Landers, who lived in St. Joseph, was riding his motorcycle through the intersection of Church Street and Prospect Avenue just after 6pm when the collision occurred. Champaign police report a car disobeying a traffic signal and collided with another vehicle in the intersection. One of the vehicles involved in the collision was forced into Landers' motorcycle. In all, five vehicles were involved in the incident. No other major injuries resulted from the crash.

Landers was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where he died from his injuries at 3:11am Monday.

Aaron Landers served on the U of I police force for 24 years. He was married with two children. He had also been working with a therapy dog who was used to provide comfort to police officers who were dealing with fallen comrades.