South Elgin Man Sentenced in Lisle Road Rage Shooting

A 42-year-old South Elgin has been sentenced to four years in prison for opening fire on Interstate 390 in Lisle in March.

Vaughn Atkins, 42, of 1409 S. Blackhawk Circle in South Elgin, entered a guilty plea to aggravated discharge of a firearm in October, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office press release.

Prosecutors said Atkins became angry after another vehicle switched lanes and cut him off while traveling south on I-355 just north of Ogden Avenue around 5:45 p.m. on March 21.

Atkins pulled his vehicle alongside the driver’s side of the other vehicle, pointed a handgun at the vehicle and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the driver’s side rear passenger door of a vehicle driven by Michael Ingram, according to the news release.

Atkins had his wife, 15-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter in his vehicle with him and was on the way to a youth basketball tournament in Chicago, according to the Daily Herald article.

Atkins told his wife and children to get down before opening fire on Ingram’s SUV, the newspaper reports.

Atkins then sped away. Police arrested him on March 24 at his South Elgin home following an investigation into the road rage shooting.

“Simply put, when Mr. Atkins decided to open fire on a fellow motorist after being cut off, he let his road rage get the best of him,” said DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin. “By shooting at the driver of another vehicle during rush hour traffic on a major expressway, Mr. Atkins put many motorists and passengers in grave danger. Thankfully, no one was hurt by Mr. Atkins’ reckless behavior.”

Atkins has been out on bond since his arrest after he posted 10 percent of his $200,000 bail. He has been ordered to begin serving his sentence immediately.