PALOS HILLS, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago woman who lives across the street from the vacant lot where a small plane crashed, killing three, says she thinks the pilot found the one spot to crash where it would not kill anyone else.

All three people on the plane were killed when it crashed last night in Palos Hills — in what is described as the only vacant lot on a street crowded with homes.

Barbara Janusz (yah-NOOSH’) says she thinks the pilot of the twin-engine plane “sacrificed his own life” to save the lives of dozens of residents of the block.

Palos Hills Deputy Police Chief James Boie (BOY’) says he’d like to think the same thing. Boie says area residents told authorities the plane was circling the area before the crash.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation and the victims have not been identified.

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