2PM NOV. 4 UPDATE

FATAL CRASH-VICTIM IDENTIFIED

Aurora police have released the identity of a 56-year-old man killed in a single vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon after the vehicle he was driving ended up in a Far East side retention pond.

Aurora Police Department traffic investigators are attempting to figure out what caused Kent L. Farris of the 1500 block of Normantown Rd., Aurora, to crash into the pond at Tara Belle Parkway and Normantown Road sometime before 4:35 p.m.

Authorities believe Farris was also the offending driver in a hit-and-run, chain-reaction crash that occurred at about 4:17 p.m., at the intersection of Montgomery Road and Tara Belle Parkway. Two of the three drivers that were hit described the vehicle that caused the crash as similar to Farris’ 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis and the physical description of the driver to closely resemble Farris.

In the chain reaction crash, a 38-year-old Aurora man said he westbound on Montgomery at Tara Belle and was stopping with traffic when he was rear-ended. The force of the crash pushed his 2007 Honda CRV into the back of a 2002 Honda Accord driven by a 60 year old Aurora woman. That vehicle was then pushed into the rear of a 2009 Mitsubishi Gallant driven by a 38-year-old Aurora woman. The driver of the offending vehicle then took off southbound on Normantown at a high rate of speed.

Several minutes later, police received a 911 call after Farris’ vehicle was seen going into the retention pond. First responders from both the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Department, including a dive team from the fire department, responded and searched the water, which according to reports, was approximately 30 feet deep.

After about two hours, Farris’ vehicle was located submerged about 100 feet from shore by dive team members. His body was pulled through the driver’s side window of the vehicle and taken ashore. No other victims were located. Farris was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:17 p.m.

All of the drivers involved in the original hit and run were alone in their vehicles. The only injury was to the 38 year old man who was transported to an Aurora hospital by Naperville paramedics who assisted on the scene. He was treated for shoulder and neck pain and released.

The continuing investigation is being conducted by the Aurora Police Traffic Division. The Naperville Fire Department, DuPage County Coroner and volunteers from the Aurora Emergency Management Agency assisted at the scene Tuesday.

An autopsy is pending at the DuPage County Coroner’s Office in Wheaton.

ORIGINAL POST 7:41AM WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4, 2015

Aurora police are trying to determine the cause of a crash that occurred late this afternoon and ended with a vehicle going into a Far East side retention pond and the body of an adult male being recovered.

The preliminary investigation seems to indicate that the car was probably involved in hit and run crashes with three other vehicles at about 4:17 p.m. in the area of Montgomery Road and Terra Belle Parkway in the DuPage County section of Aurora. The offending vehicle in that crash was westbound on Montgomery and fled the scene after colliding with the other cars. It was last seen traveling south on Normantown Road.

One person who occupied one of the three vehicles struck was treated for minor injuries as a result of the crash.

Several minutes later, police received a 911 call for a vehicle that matched the description of the one involved in the hit and runs that was seen going into a large retention pond at Terra Belle and Normantown Road. First responders from both the Aurora Police Department and Aurora Fire Department, including a dive team from the fire department, responded and searched the water. After about two hours, the body of a 59-year-old Aurora man was pulled from the water about 35 yards from shore. The vehicle the man was believed to have been driving was then recovered. No other victims were located.

Police are withholding the identity of the man until his family can be notified.

The continuing investigation is being conducted by the Aurora Police Traffic Division. The Naperville Fire Department assisted in rescue and recovery efforts at the scene. The DuPage County Coroner’s Office is also assisting.

More information is expected to be released later today.

SOURCE: city of Aurora news release