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Marion businessman and 2 daughters killed in plane crash
Updated: Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011, 7:27 AM EST
Published : Saturday, 26 Nov 2011, 3:39 PM EST
CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. (WISH/AP) - Friends and family have identified the four people killed in a plane crash Saturday.
The pilot was Ray Harris, 46, and two of the passengers were his daughters Ramie and Shey, all of Marion.
The Chicago Tribune reports the fourth victim as Chris Backus, 22, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A spokesman for the city of Marion said he was one of the girl's boyfriend.
Monday, McHenry County Deputy Coroner Curt Bradshaw confirmed the four victims died of blunt force trauma.
There wasn't any sign that Ray Harris had any medical emergency before the crash. Tests for alcohol and drugs are still pending.
Longtime friend and neighbor Aaron Vermillion said Harris was flying his daughter Ramie back to Wheaton College after the holiday. College officials said Ramie was 21.
The small plane crashed into a field near the northwestern Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, according to authorities.
Ray Harris is the owner of the Ray Harris Chrysler Jeep Dealership in Marion, Indiana. Harris' wife and son were not on board the plane.
Harris was flying the plane from Marion to Chicago to take his oldest daughter back to college in Wheaton when it nose-dived into a field, killing all on board.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said the crash happened in unincorporated McHenry County at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Cory stated the plane was not talking to air traffic control, but rather operating using "visual flight rules," meaning the pilot was looking out the window to see where he was headed.
According to the FAA, the weather conditions in the area had been overcast and rainy.
The aircraft was a Cirrus-SR22 registered to the Marion Pilots Club, Inc. in Marion, Indiana.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and the McHenry County Coroner's office will be conducting the autopsies.
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