Search fatalities

Maureena Charles Reid

Age : 85

Gender : Female

Race : Black

Date : 09/25/2021

Location : State Highway 171 near Johnson County Road 302

City : Grandview

County : Johnson

State : Texas

Agency : Hill County Sheriff’s Office; Bosque County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Hill County deputies were attempting to apprehend Randall Anthony Thurman, 34, in connection with the alleged abduction of two children from Walnut Springs. An AMBER Alert had been issued for an 8-year-old girl who authorities said remained in Thurman’s vehicle when deputies located it.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 09/25/2021, 85-year-old Maureena Charles Reid of Burleson was killed when a vehicle being pursued by Hill County deputies crossed into oncoming traffic on State Highway 171 in Johnson County and struck her Kia head-on. Reid was not involved in the events that prompted the pursuit and was driving in the opposite direction when the pursued vehicle entered her lane.
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The events leading to the pursuit began the previous night in Walnut Springs, where the Bosque County Sheriff’s Office received a report at approximately 10:45 p.m. that two children, a 7-year-old boy and his 8-year-old sister, were missing. Their mother told deputies she believed the children were with a relative, Randall Anthony Thurman. Authorities subsequently determined that Thurman was a registered sex offender and alerted surrounding law-enforcement agencies.
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At approximately 1:40 a.m., the boy reached a convenience store along Interstate 35 in Hill County and sought help. Authorities reported that clear packing tape had been wrapped around his throat and arms. The boy told deputies that Thurman had removed him from the vehicle, bound him with tape and driven away with his sister still in the car. The boy was transported for medical treatment, and authorities issued an AMBER Alert for the girl.
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At approximately 9:15 a.m., Hill County resident Tracy Martin spotted the silver Chrysler 200 identified in the AMBER Alert among trees on his property. Martin said he saw the girl inside the car and Thurman crouching nearby. According to Martin, Thurman got into the Chrysler and attempted to strike Martin with it. Martin followed the vehicle while communicating with the sheriff’s office, pursuing it for approximately five miles and helping deputies locate it.
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Hill County deputies subsequently located the Chrysler and attempted a traffic stop. Police said Thurman continued driving away and deputies pursued northbound on State Highway 171 toward Cleburne. Bosque County deputies were also involved in the multi-agency search. Public accounts do not provide an exact maximum pursuit speed, pursuit duration, total police-pursuit distance, or identify the individual deputies driving the pursuing vehicles. No use of stop sticks, a PIT/TVI maneuver, roadblock, or police-vehicle contact with the Chrysler was reported.
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After the pursuit entered Johnson County, deputies reported that the Chrysler was traveling at high speed when it crossed the center line and continued toward Reid’s oncoming Kia. The Bosque County Sheriff’s Office said deputies believed the movement into opposing traffic was intentional. That conclusion was the law-enforcement account of Thurman’s actions; the publicly available reports do not identify independent crash-reconstruction evidence establishing his intent.
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The Chrysler struck Reid’s Kia head-on near the intersection of State Highway 171 and Johnson County Road 302. Reid and Thurman were both killed. The 8-year-old girl was found conscious in the front passenger seat of the Chrysler and communicated with officers at the scene. Emergency crews extricated her from the wreckage and CareFlight transported her to a hospital. She survived and was later released from the hospital.
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The Texas Department of Public Safety subsequently publicly identified Reid as the 85-year-old Burleson woman killed in the collision. Available reporting about her death concentrates almost entirely on the abduction and pursuit and provides little biographical information about Reid herself beyond her name, age and community.
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The fatal collision ended the pursuit and the search for the abducted girl. The individual Hill County deputies involved in the pursuit were not publicly identified in the sources located for this reconstruction.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Hill County deputies who initiated and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article254520872.html
https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/09/25/two-children-safe-suspect-dead-following-abduction-in-central-texas-sheriff-says/
https://www.kwtx.com/2021/09/28/mother-central-texas-children-abducted-by-registered-sex-offender-charged/
https://www.fox4news.com/news/amber-alert-suspect-among-2-killed-in-johnson-county-crash-missing-girl-flown-to-hospital
https://www.kwtx.com/2021/11/09/bosque-county-girl-involved-amber-alert-out-hospital/