Villa Park Police: Body, hit-and-run may be linked

Villa Park police are investigating whether a body found Saturday morning in the city is the same person who fled from a car accident at North and Villa avenues Friday afternoon.

The body was discovered at 10:49 a.m. in a trailer in the 200 block of East Sidney Court, officials said. The site is just blocks from where the accident occurred.

A police statement did not specify if the body was male or female, but said it resembles the description of the person who fled from the crash.

Police responded to the car accident at about 3:40 p.m. Friday, where they discovered one car that had been in a crash. Police said a second car fled north on Villa Avenue, then crashed again into a utility pole on the 1000 block of North Villa Avenue, near the Odeum Sports and Expo Center, before the driver fled on foot.

Fire officials would not name the make and model of the cars but said the driver who remained on the scene was not injured, nor were any rescue workers.

Police closed a portion of Villa Avenue Friday night. A search for the driver lasted several hours and included help from Addison Police, Elmhurst police, Lombard police, Illinois State Police, and the Cook County sheriff's office, but was unsuccessful Friday night, officials said.

Saturday morning, police were called to the Sidney address where they found the body. The incident is being investigated by Villa Park police and the DuPage County Coroner's office. Authorities did not release the name of the dead person, pending notification of family members.