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Chicago man, 50, killed in paraglider crash in Fox River near Ottawa

OTTAWA - Authorities have identified a man who died in a crash of a powered paraglider that plunged into the Fox River in near Ottawa.

The LaSalle County Sheriff's Office and the county coroner's office say the victim was 50-year-old Jeffrey A. Carpenter of Chicago. He was a passenger in the two-seat paraglider.

The pilot got free of his harness and escaped. He was hospitalized.

Monday night's accident occurred near the city of Ottawa, about 70 miles southwest of Chicago.

It involved a type of hobbyist aircraft consisting of a cart held aloft by a parachute and propelled by a large motor-driven fan worn as a backpack.

The pilot told sheriff's deputies the paraglider had engine problems.

It crashed near the Dayton Dam, and water was surging because of recent heavy rains.

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