Mother Recovering After Jumping From RV During Chase
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A mother remains in the hospital on Friday morning after being shot three times and jumping from a moving RV early Thursday. This was all part of a multi-county chase the ended in a fiery blaze along Interstate-30 near Fielder Road in Arlington.
Candie Price is alive, but on a ventilator at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. Police have credited Price with texting 911 to alert them about the situation. The exchanged that followed was chilling, as she told the authorities that she was "30 west in RV his name is Tony Kelly." Price said that she was kidnapped by Kelly and shot three times.
With one final message, Price told police, "Thank u please kill him bye."
The RV was speeding down Interstate-30 outside of Greenville when Hunt County authorities received the text messages from Price. The texting system was an alternative to a phone call, officials explained. "All the dispatchers had training on it," Sheriff Randy Meeks said. "It's something new to us and it's something, in this case, that proved to be very, very valuable."
Officer Mitchell Singleton and Officer Alphonso Olivo with the Caddo Mills Police Department were the first to spot the RV on Thursday morning. They tried to pull over the vehicle, but were not successful. Kelly drove off, and the officers witnessed Price climb out of a rear window.
Price escaped by jumping out of the moving RV, but Kelly and their two children remained inside. "Scary for a little bit. We're running 80-85 mph down the interstate and all of a sudden someone jumps out of a moving vehicle in front of you," Singleton recalled. "She was beat up pretty bad. She was worried about her kids."
Police punctured the RV's tires with spike strips, but Kelly kept driving until the rims began to make sparks.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop in Arlington, Kelly released the kids. "We see the door to the RV open and the older of the children were pushed out," Oliva stated. "The child was distraught, crying, walking around in circles trying to get back into the RV. At that point, the door flung open again and the smaller child was thrown out of the vehicle and landed face down."
Olivo rushed to grab the two young boys. They were raced to a waiting ambulance just before a single gunshot was heard, and the RV burst into flames. The fire was likely a result of those sparks made during the pursuit. "There were flames coming from the front end of the vehicle," Olivo said. "Real thick, dark smoke."
Dashboard camera video released on Friday shows a Hunt County deputy comforting the two crying children and taking them to be checked out by medics at the scene. The deputy told the older boy, "Hold your little brother." The children were not hurt. Kelly was later found dead inside of the burnt RV, from a gunshot wound.
Authorities are still not sure what provoked the shooting and kidnapping. An investigation is now underway, but officials have been unable to speak with Price. The victim's family said Thursday night that she was heavily sedated and had not yet opened her eyes. Family members also explained that Kelly and Price had a troubled relationship.