Wednesday, September 20th 2023, 10:35 pm
A man accused of murdering a couple and their two young boys in Illinois came to Oklahoma Wednesday. Police said he ran from authorities, crashed, then shot his passenger and himself.
Police said they heard the two gunshots right before the car burst into flames on I-44 near Catoosa.
Police in Romeoville, Illinois, a suburb outside Chicago, said the man who crashed in Catoosa is Nathaniel Huey, Jr.
Police in Illinois have been searching for Huey since Sunday night, after finding a couple and two boys, one seven-years-old and the other nine-years-old, dead from gunshot wounds.
Police said the couple's three dogs were also shot and killed.
Police said Huey’s car was spotted by a license plate reading camera in Catoosa.
“The Catoosa, Oklahoma Police Department was alerted to the presence of the suspect vehicle in their jurisdiction,” said Chris Burne, the Deputy Chief of the Romeoville Police Department. “Acting on this alert, local authorities located the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.”
OSBI said Huey took off, then crashed into the median, and the car caught fire.
Romeoville Police said Huey was found dead with a gunshot wound.
The woman in the passenger seat also had a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. She has since been confirmed dead by OSBI.
The woman’s family had reported her missing Tuesday night.
“In the evening hours of September 19th, the female person of interest was reported by family as a missing/endangered person out of Streamwood, Illinois, and entered into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System,” said Burne.
I-44 is back open Wednesday night after being closed for more than five hours during the investigation.
Jimmy Warren said living near the highway, he sees a lot of crazy things, but what he witnessed today was one of the most unbelievable.
He said he was sitting outside on his patio around 11 a.m. when he heard some commotion.
“We heard the sirens. About that time, we heard the crash, bam!”
He lives right above I-44 and has a front-row seat to the Westbound Lane near the Hard Rock Casino.
“The Highway Patrol and Catoosa Police had it pulled over. Smoke comes from everywhere," Warren said. "They were telling him to get out of the car, but the flames kept coming up, and all of a sudden, you couldn't see anything because there was so much smoke.”
Warren said officers at first couldn't get anyone in the car to respond to their commands to get out, but then he saw officers get one person out of the vehicle.
He said traffic was a nightmare as investigators tried to figure out exactly what happened.
“They were here. They did everything they could to get him out.”
And between police pursuits, crashes, and everything else he’s witnessed from his vantage point, this one might take the cake.
“We’ve seen some strange things living here," Warren said.
This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates.
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