Wheeling police officer on leave after crash that killed pedestrian, Fredi Morales

WHEELING, Ill. (WLS) -- A man was struck and killed by a police squad car in northwest suburban Wheeling over the weekend and his family wants to know what happened.

A sidewalk memorial marks the spot on McHenry Road, close to where Fredi Morales, 20, was attempting to cross the street just after 5:30 a.m. Sunday when he was struck and killed by an on-duty Wheeling police officer.

"It went very, very, very fast. Very fast and that's what struck my attention," said Lori Wood, area resident.

Lori Wood lives just east of where the accident took place. She says she was in her kitchen making coffee when she saw the squad car speed by.

"I heard the screeching of the wheels and all of a sudden I heard the thump," said Wood.

Wheeling police will not specify how fast the officer was going, but say he was trying to catch up to a traffic violator, and had not yet activated his lights and sirens when he struck Morales. It was still dark out at the time.

"It's our standard operating procedure to first catch up to the violator, so he did not have lights and sirens on yet, because he had not caught up to the vehicle when he became involved in the accident," said Wheeling Police Dept. Deputy Chief Todd Wolff.

That bothers Morales' family, who believe he would not have tried to cross the street had he seen and heard the squad car coming. On Monday, their attorney told ABC7 over the phone they will be conducting an investigation of their own. Wheeling police say the officer involved has been placed on administrative leave, though not for disciplinary reasons, but rather for his own well-being.

"He's a 22-year veteran of our department and it's very tragic as you can imagine. He's at home resting with his family. We're very concerned for him and the Morales family," said Wolff.

The victim's family said the loss is incredibly difficult. Morales, who was born in the U.S., recently lost his father. He was working to send money to support his mother in Mexico.

"There's nothing that could explain how hurt we are, how much pain it is causing our family right now," said Yoseline Martinez, the victim's cousin.

Morales' services are set for Tuesday. Wheeling police said they don't know how long the officer will remain on leave.