No Charges For Balloonists After Two Incidents In Huntley

HUNTLEY, Ill. (CBS) -- Police have decided not to press charges against either of two balloonists who landed their craft in in northwest suburban Huntley over the past week.

Deputy Police Chief Michael Klunk said police and prosecutors made a complete review of village ordinances and state law, and could find no statute under which they could charge either of them.

The first hot air balloon set down a week ago on the Pinecrest Golf Course. The second landed Tuesday morning on a street in the Sun City complex.

One person suffered minor injuries in the Pinecrest landing.

Klunk said he expects the village board to take up the issue of balloon landings and consider a measure that would limit landings to emergencies. He said several neighboring communities already have such ordinances on the books.

Klunk said no deception was involved. He said authorities assumed from eyewitness calls to 911 that the landings were emergencies.

In the most recent incident, the pilot told police he was concerned about high winds pushing the balloon toward high-tension power lines along Interstate 90, so he landed in a residential subdivision.