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Circus employee's death under investigation in Kane County

A 22-year-old circus employee was found unconscious in his trailer at the Kane County fairgrounds early Saturday morning and was pronounced dead shortly after, police announced Monday.

The Kane County coroner's office conducted an autopsy on Casey Dale Walker of Etowah, N.C., on Monday but was unable to determine the cause of death. The death investigation is pending toxicology reports.

A fellow circus employee found Walker slumped over his dresser in the bedroom of his trailer and called 911 at 3:50 a.m. Saturday, according to police.

One witness told St. Charles police that she saw a metal pipe fall on Walker's forehead several hours before he was found in the trailer.

The witness told police the pipe was lying on top of a platform, and it fell a couple of feet before striking his forehead, St. Charles police spokesman Paul McCurtain said.

Other witnesses said they noticed a bump on Walker's forehead earlier in the night.

“After he got that bump on his head, witnesses described him as being fine,” McCurtain said.

Walker spent “quite a bit of time,” sitting around a drinking with fellow workers after the pipe struck him, McCurtain said.

Police said there were no signs of a struggle in or around the trailer where Walker was found, and that he showed no signs of violence on his body.

The first officer to arrive on the scene began performing CPR, and paramedics continued performing CPR while taking Walker to Delnor Hospital.

Walked was pronounced dead at Delnor Hospital at 5 a.m.

“It's going to be at least a couple weeks until we hear anything,” McCurtain said.

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