CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - A Monday procession transported the body of a fallen University of Illinois police lieutenant.
Responders gathered to take Lt. Aaron R. Landers, 50 from the Champaign County Coroner's Office in Urbana to Freese Funeral Home in Tolono. The procession started at about 4:30 p.m. and moved along Route 130, County Road 900 North and Route 45.
A large law enforcement presence honored Landers.
"Thank you for your cooperation with the procession, and thank you to all who have expressed condolences, both to us and the Landers family," a Facebook post from U of I police said. "It truly means a lot, and it is clear to us that Lt. Landers was surrounded by a lot of great people."
Landers, who is from St. Joseph, lost his life after a vehicle vs. motorcycle crash on Sunday, which happened at about 6:08 p.m. Champaign police responded to the scene at Church Street and Prospect Avenue.
Landers was pronounced dead at 3:11 a.m. Monday at Carle Foundation Hospital. Investigators ruled blunt force injuries sustained in the crash as the official cause of death.
Logan Freed, 25, was cited after the crash on preliminary charges of aggravated driving under the influence and failure to have valid automobile insurance.
Landers has earned multiple awards in his 24-year career, including two life-saving awards, the excellence in community policing award and the director of public safety recognition award. He served for the University of Illinois Bomb Squad and recently became that group's commander.
In 2020, he was named supervisor of the U of I police department's new Community Outreach and Support Team, which works to provide educational programming for the campus community, support resources, community engagement and mental health crisis intervention.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
Lt. Aaron R. Landers
