Child injured, abductor killed in Saturday wreck
Sep. 27—Johnson County Judge Roger Harmon opened Monday's meeting of the Johnson County Commissioners Court by offering a prayer in support of an 8-year-old Bosque County girl injured Saturday in a head-on collision and for her brother, 7, who deputies located before the collision occurred.
"I come today with a heavy heart," Harmon said. "This morning's invocation is going to be a little longer so bear with me."
First responders airlifted the girl to a hospital. Details of her condition have not been released.
The wreck, which occurred in the 9800 block of Texas 171 near Grandview, left the drivers of both vehicles dead.
Bosque County Sheriff's Office Deputies responded Friday night on reports of two possibly abducted children. The mother of the children told deputies that she suspected Randall Anthony Thurman, 34, a relative and registered sex offender, had abducted the children.
Officials issued an Amber Alert on the missing children but later located the boy about 1:40 a.m. Saturday at a convenience store off of Interstate-35 in Hill County in the custody of Hill County Sheriff's Office deputies and Itasca police officers.
The boy ran into the convenience store seeking help, according to reports, with clear packing tape wrapped around his throat and arms. The boy told officers that "Randall" removed him from the car and wrapped him in tape before fleeing the scene with the boy's sister.
Officials transported the boy to a hospital for treatment. Details of his condition have not been released.
At about 9:15 a.m. that same morning, a Hill County resident saw a Chrysler 200 matching the description and license plate in the Amber Alert parked between a group of trees on his property and contacted the Hill County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies responded to the scene and attempted a traffic stop at which point Thurman drove off northbound on Texas 171 toward Cleburne.
Once he entered Johnson County, deputies observed Thurman's car cross the center lane and continue at a high rate of speed toward an oncoming vehicle.
The maneuver appears to have been intentional on Thurman's part, Bosque County Sheriff's Office officials said.
The collision occurred near the intersection of Texas 171 and County Road 302. Thurman died at the scene.
The girl was conscious at the scene but had to be extricated from the vehicle.
The driver of the second vehicle also died at the scene. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's website lists her name as Maureena Charles Reid, 85, of Burleson.
