Driver Killed By Cop Told Police He Was Involved In Mom's Murder

PALATINE, IL — A Palatine police officer responding to a reported murder shot and killed a man who was about to run him over with a car early Sunday, according to police. It was around 2 a.m. when police got to the 300 block of North Brockway Street responding to a 911 call reporting a homicide at an apartment complex.

The caller, Leslie Vaughan, 51, of 304 N. Brockway Street, told the 911 operator that he was involved in a murder that had just happened. The call then disconnected, police said.

While investigating the report, two Palatine officers were on the grass talking to a neighbor. Vaughan was sitting in his car watching them, unbeknownst to the police.

Vaughan began accelerating, swerved onto the grass and sped his car towards the cops and neighbor. One officer was able to jump out of the way.

The other officer shot Vaughan multiple times, but the car continued and hit him and the neighbor, then the apartment building. Vaughan was pronounced dead at the scene and the officer and neighbor were both taken to an area hospital.

As police continued to investigate the original murder report, they found the body of Polly A. Vaughan, Leslie's 74-year-old mother.

Several neighbors were shocked by the event, the Daily Herald reported, but Bobbie Sanborn, who lives across the street, still sees her neighborhood as a safe place. "I can't take the view that, 'Oh my gosh, I've got to move out of the neighborhood,'" she said.

The police shooting and murder are both under investigation.

See the Palatine police release here.

(Editor's note: this article has been updated with new information from the Palatine Police Department)

Photo credit: Palatine Police Department