An elderly woman walking along the shoulder of U.S. 81/287 in Rhome was struck and killed around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. The driver who first hit her reportedly made a U-turn and fled southbound. At least two other vehicles also struck the woman after the initial impact, and only one other driver remained at the scene when officers arrived.
According to the Wise County Messenger, the crash happened near the intersection of the highway and County Road 4840 in the south part of the city. Police Chief Paul Bocconcelli said the woman appeared to be walking along the shoulder when she was struck by a northbound vehicle and then hit by at least two more passing cars. The vehicle that first struck her was described only as a white passenger vehicle of unknown make and model.
The driver of the vehicle that first struck her reportedly made a U-turn at County Road 4840 before heading southbound on the highway, leaving only one vehicle behind at the scene. Officers who responded performed CPR until Wise County EMS arrived, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene despite those efforts.
Investigators Piece Together a Chaotic Scene
Police have not identified the woman, and as of Tuesday afternoon they were still working to locate and notify her next of kin, the chief said. Investigators are reviewing video and speaking with witnesses.
“We are still putting together the chain of events, reviewing video and speaking with witnesses,” Bocconcelli said, per the Messenger's report. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram also reported on the crash, though Rhome police did not immediately respond to that outlet's request for more information.
Not the First Deadly Roadway Case in the Area
Not the First Deadly Roadway Case in the Area In 2023, motorcyclist Jerry Wayne Newton, 55, of Decatur, died following a March 10 crash, and the Messenger's report on that case notes that James Paul Proulx was later arrested and booked into the Wise County Jail on second-degree felony charges of manslaughter and accident involving personal injury or death.
In another separate incident near Newark, a woman struck by a vehicle on U.S. 81/287 was later identified as 19-year-old Destiny Quintanilla of Grand Prairie, according to the Messenger's reporting. The circumstances in each differ.
For now, the driver who first struck her is the one who fled. The make and model of the white vehicle involved are still unknown. Police continue to review footage and canvass witnesses as they work to identify everyone involved and notify the victim's family.
