Sheriff: Man who died in Lowell Park explosion in Dixon committed suicide

September 30, 2023 at 5:15 am CDT

Dixon Rural firefighters and Lee County deputies investigated a vehicle explosion in a parking lot at Lowell Park, north of Dixon, on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. One person was found deceased in the driver's seat. Officials from the state fire marshal's office and the ATF also were called to the scene. — This vehicle was found ablaze in the Lowell Park boat ramp parking lot in Dixon Thursday morning. The body of a man was found in the driver's seat; his identity is pending an autopsy to be conducted at 1 p.m. Friday. (Earleen Hinton)

DIXON – A 20-year-old Dixon man whose body was found Thursday morning in Lowell Park after an explosion in a burning car committed suicide, Lee County Sheriff Clay Whelan said in a news release Friday afternoon.

The man, who left a suicide note, died of smoke inhalation and burns, Coroner Jesse Partington said after an autopsy was conducted.

He was identified by his dental records, and the car was registered in his name, Whelan said.

The cause of the explosion, which appears to have happened in the passenger compartment, still is being investigated by the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the release.

The Dixon Rural Fire Department was called to the boat trailer parking lot about 9 a.m. for a report of a vehicle fire. The body was found in the driver’s seat by firefighters extinguishing the flames.

Lowell Park is at 2114 Lowell Park Road, about 4 miles north of Dixon.

Kathleen A. Schultz

Kathleen Schultz is a Sterling native with 40 years of reporting and editing experience in Arizona, California, Montana and Illinois.