Lee County sheriff IDs man killed by passing train

DIXON — Authorities have released the name of a man killed by a passing train in Nelson last week.

Omar Arroyo, 31, of Chicago, was found dead Tuesday, Sept. 24, near the tracks about a mile west of Wadsworth Way and Railway Road, according to a news release issued Monday morning by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation revealed Arroyo jumped in front of the train as it approached, according to the release.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday to a call along the railroad tracks in rural Lee County, where they discovered Arroyo’s body, according to the release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators used Arroyo’s fingerprint records to identify his body, and authorities have located some of his family members in Chicago to inform them of his death.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Illinois State Police – Crime Scene Services, the Dixon Rural Fire Department, the Dixon City Fire Department, the Lee County Coroner’s Office, and Union Pacific Railroad.