Dramatic plane crash near Chicago leaves one dead, one hurt

A small plane crashed into the parking lot of a bank in Bolingbrook, Ill., Wednesday evening, killing a passenger and critically injuring the pilot, officials said.

Connor Hale, 17, of Bolingbrook, told the Los Angeles Times he was driving through an intersection when he spotted the plane flying over a Walgreens drugstore about 5:10 p.m. Central time.

“It was way too low. The second I saw it, I knew something was wrong,” said Hale, noting that the crash happened near Bolingbrook’s Clow International Airport.

“It just didn’t seem very stable and it wasn’t flying straight at all,” Hale said.

He said the plane flew close to a building and “went straight down after that.”

Several photos from the scene showed the craft smoldering in the parking lot of a Chase Bank.

Bolingbrook Police Lt. Michael Rompa told the Chicago Tribune that the plane crashed into a tree, a light pole and then several vehicles near the bank before coming to a stop.

Officials said the passenger was pronounced dead at the scene and the pilot was severely burned.

Bolingbrook is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago.

Below are a few photos and tweets from witnesses on the scene.