La Salle bicyclist dies from injuries sustained in Route 351 crash

A 45-year-old La Salle bicyclist died Monday from injuries following a hit-and-run crash on Route 351, just south of La Salle.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident that occurred at about 4:12 p.m. Sunday on Route 351, south of La Salle, near the Illinois and Michigan Canal entrance.

Deputies said Carl J. Telford, 45, was riding an electric bicycle along Route 351 when he was believed to have been struck by a vehicle that fled from the scene.

Deputies said the suspect vehicle appears to be a late 1990s white Cadillac Escalade. Witnesses described the vehicle as having a yellow temporary registration plate. Pieces of the suspect vehicle’s passenger side mirror were recovered at the scene as a result of the crash.

Telford was taken to St. Margaret’s-Peru where he was then transferred to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. Telford died as a result of the injuries he suffered, the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office said.

The sheriff’s office is continuing to ask anyone with information regarding this incident or anyone who sees a vehicle matching the above description to contact the office at 815-433-2161, option 8.