Rafael Hernandez-Villa, a chef at St. Charles’ El Puente Restaurant, was killed Tuesday evening when his bike was hit by a vehicle on West Main Street in St. Charles.
Hernandez-Villa was 61 years of age.
According to reports, Hernandez-Villa was riding his bike home from work at around 9pm Tuesday evening when he was struck by a Jeep Wrangler in the 1300 block of West Main street. An investigation showed that a 2021 Jeep Wrangler was traveling east in the left eastbound lane of West Main Street while Hernandez-Villa, on his bike, was traveling west in the center dual turn lane. Hernandez-Villa then turned left directly in to the path of the Jeep Wrangler.
It was determined that the bicycle had no lights or lamps illuminated and Hernandez-Villa was wearing dark clothing and was not wearing a helmet.
Hernandez-Villa was transported to Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The driver and sole occupant of the Jeep Wrangler was not injured. No citations have been issued in this investigation.
Rafael Hernandez-Villa was a chef at El Puente for 24 years, according to a Facebook post.
The St. Charles Police Department is encouraging anyone who might have witnessed the accident to contact the St. Charles Police Department Investigations Section at (630) 377-4435.
