Background: The aftermath of the crash in Stephenville, Texas (KDFW/YouTube). Inset left: Gracie Yates (Stephenville Police Department). Inset right: Barbara Rocha and Alex Aaron Rocha (GoFundMe).
A Texas mother and her young son were in their bedroom at night when suddenly a vehicle driven by an 18-year-old woman crashed through the wall, killing them both, authorities say.
Gracie Yates faces two charges of criminally negligent homicide, Erath County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show. The victims were 49-year-old Barbara Rocha and 7-year-old Alex Aaron Rocha, family members told regional Fox affiliate KDFW.
During the early morning hours of Sunday, the mother and son were in their bedroom on the 200 block of North Ollie Street in Stephenville, Texas, which is located about 100 miles southwest of Dallas. Suddenly, a vehicle “left the roadway” and crashed through the home, states a news release from the Stephenville Police Department.
“”All I heard is a crash, I went in the room, and all you can hear is my little brother screaming and my mom praying,'” Raul Rocha, an older brother of Alex Rocha, recounted what their other brother who lived at the home told him. “That’s what he said … I have that stuck in the back of my head right now.”
Barbara Rocha and Alex Rocha were rushed to an area hospital, but they both died from their injuries.
Yates is alleged to have been the person driving the vehicle that crashed. The news release does not mention anyone else being inside her vehicle.
A GoFundMe posted by a self-proclaimed friend of Barbara Rocha’s husband said “a drunk driver crashed” through the house. The release from police makes no mention of alcohol or drugs playing a part in the incident.
The man is “now without a house and is struggling to cover the funeral costs for his wife and son,” the fundraiser adds. “He’s also in urgent need of temporary housing and support for other immediate needs as he tries to rebuild.”
Yates was booked into the Erath County Jail on Sunday, and a judge set her bond at $14,500. She was released on Tuesday, records show.
