LEE COUNTY - Two men were killed and two others injured in an explosion that occurred Dec. 5 in a Lee County farm field. Rory Miller, 59, of Amboy and his son, Ryan S. Miller, 30, of Oregon were both pronounced dead at the scene. Michael Koster, 20, of Sterling was reported in critical condition at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Rockford and Kyler Acklund, 20, of West Brooklyn was treated and released from St. Anthony’s.

In a press release, Lee County Sheriff John Simonton reported that the Lee County Emergency Telecommunication Center received a 911 emergency call on Tuesday morning, Dec. 5 reporting an explosion with fire visible in a field northeast of the intersection of Nachusa Road and Route 38 in Lee County.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Department, Dixon Rural Fire Department and Dixon City Fire Department were first to arrive at the scene, where farm workers had been installing field tile nearby. Preliminary indications were that that a large explosion occurred when a natural gas pipeline was hit accidentally, which caused a fire to engulf the scene.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Department also received assistance from the Dixon Police Department, Lee County Emergency Management Director, Lee County Coroner, Ogle County Emergency Management Director, Ogle County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois State Police, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall, Kinder Morgan and the Illinois Department of Transportation.  

The incident remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal, Kinder Morgan pipeline, the Illinois State Police, Lee County Coroner and Lee County Sheriff’s Office.