Hoffman Estates motorcyclist hit barrier in fatal crash near I-290, I-94

The death of 50-year-old Hoffman Estates resident Steve Sanchez, whose disappearance initially was a mystery, was ruled an accident Tuesday by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Spokesman Frank Shuftan says Sanchez was riding his motorcycle near the interchange of Interstates 290 and 94 in Chicago Saturday night when he crashed into a concrete barrier.

Upon impact, Sanchez was thrown from his motorcycle to a construction area on the roadway below. Construction workers found his body near Congress Parkway in an embankment around noon Monday, Shuftan said.

Police said Sanchez left Chicago's Burnham Harbor for the Inverness area around 8 p.m. Saturday after attending the Air and Water Show with family.

They found his motorcycle and his cellphone 30 minutes later on the ramp of Interstate 290 west to Interstate 94 south, but they didn't find Sanchez.

The damage to the motorcycle wasn't major, so authorities said they didn't initially believe the accident was fatal so they launched a search for a missing person.