Police fatally shoot man after high-speed chase

NORMAL -- A man suspected of robbing four banks died several hours after being shot by police following a high-speed chase in central Illinois.

Authorities say the man, identified by McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling as Robert Sylvester of Bloomington, robbed a Bloomington currency exchange at gunpoint on Monday and fled.

Police began a pursuit around 3 p.m. on Interstate 55. Witnesses say the 57-year-old Sylvester jumped out of the vehicle near the Peoria exit onto I-74 and leaped over a concrete barrier with a gun.

That's when he and officers exchanged gunfire and he was shot.

Normal Assistant Police Chief Kirk Ijams told the Bloomington Pantagraph Tuesday that an officer who fired shots in the incident has been placed on administrative leave, per department policy.