BELL COUNTY, Texas — Editor's Note: The attached video aired on March 11.
A woman charged in connection with causing a crash in a stolen car that killed two people in March was indicted on two counts of murder.
According to an arrest affidavit filed on Aug. 30, a McLennan County Sheriff's Deputy saw a "suspicious" car parked in front of a business on South Fifth St. in Waco that had been closed and a male wearing all-black running to the car from the establishment. The deputy attempted to pull the car over, believing that he had seen part of a burglary, but the car sped off in the opposite direction on I-35 towards Bell County.
The deputy asked other police forces in towns along I-35 where the car was traveling for assistance, informing them that the driver was going as fast as 130 mph and had their nighttime car headlights off. Information about the car that was relayed to the other police forces revealed that the car had been reported stolen out of Killeen.
The affidavit says at one point the driver suddenly took Exit 309 on I-35. The pursuing officer attempted to follow, but temporarily lost control of his car and it ended up sliding into an embankment between I-35 south and the frontage road.
When the stolen car entered the Troy area, an officer with the city's police department witnessed the driver blow past her at triple-digit speeds and even run through a red light and stop sign while switching two lanes at a time repeatedly.
As the chase entered the Temple city limits, the Troy PD officer saw the driver attempt to take an exit off of I-35 faster than they should have, and ended up crashing. The car was found with the engine on fire in a grassy ditch area across from the CEFCO on northwest H K Dodgen Loop.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the stolen car, which was a Mazda, rolled over multiple times and tossed all four occupants that were inside of it out.
When the officer began to survey the crash site, she found a female, later revealed to be Rhythm Proctor, on the ground, stating that she thought she had been paralyzed from the accident. Another person that was in the car was injured but was "verbally combative" with officers and refused to follow their commands.
A 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy were killed in the crash, according to a release from the Texas Department of Public Safety after the incident occurred.
A Bell County deputy who found the girl dead said he was able to tell that she was dead, but confirmed it after not being able to find a pulse. Another Bruceville-Eddy officer that was assisting with the pursuit found the 17-year-old boy breathing, but he alongside the girl were pronounced dead that day.
Proctor later admitted she was the driver of the car in an interview with authorities a couple of days after the incident occurred. The other individual that was arrested told her mother, who in turn confirmed to police, that Proctor had been driving the stolen Mazda the night of the crash.
According to a Bell County Sheriff's Department employee, Proctor was booked and released on Sept. 9.
She is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on November in Judge Wade Faulkner's court.
