Three men identifed in fatal Interstate 55 plane crash

The crash happened around 8:49 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 55 near Lincoln. (Photo courtesy Bill Mabie)

 

By Neil Doyle

LINCOLN – The three people who were killed in a plane crash Tuesday on Interstate 55 have been identified.

Illinois State Police said the victims are Mitchell Janssen, 22 of Princeville, Kevin Chapman, 30, of Urbana and Matthew Hanson, 33, of Pulaski, Wisconsin.

The Cessna 172 crashed on I-55 near Lincoln just before 9 a.m., according to ISP. The small plane became fully engulfed upon impact.

Several agencies assisted at the scene and the Federal Aviation Administration is investigation the crash.  Authorities said the plane departed the Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington.

Mitchell Janseen was a three-sport athlete at Princeville High School, playing baseball, basketball and football, according to our news partner Heart of Illinois ABC.

He went on to play baseball for Bradley University as a right-handed pitcher from 2016 to 2019.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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