Mother And 7-Year-Old Son Killed As Car Slams Into Stephenville Home: Driver Charged

Suspect Gracie Yates | Image by Erath County Sheriff's Office/website A woman and her young son died after a car veered off the road and slammed into a home early Sunday in Stephenville. The driver was arrested on two counts of criminally negligent homicide. The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. in the 200 block of North Ollie Street in the community located about an hour southwest of Fort Worth. Stephenville police said officers arrived to find "multiple people" injured inside the residence. First responders from Erath County EMS and the Stephenville Fire Department rushed the victims to Texas Health Resources Stephenville, but a woman and a boy were pronounced dead despite life-saving efforts. Family members identified the victims as Barbara Rocha and her 7-year-old son, Alex, who were sleeping in a bedroom when the vehicle struck the house. Officials did not release details on the injuries to others in the home, but a young daughter survived. The driver, 18-year-old Gracie Yates, was taken into custody at the scene and booked into the Erath County Jail. She faces two counts of criminally negligent homicide with bonds totaling $29,000, police said. A neighbor who lives nearby, Reese Skinner, said the impact woke him up, adding, "You always think that crazy things will never happen to you or hit this close to home." Skinner later spoke with the victims' husband and father, who was making funeral arrangements. "He told me what had happened, but I just felt helpless," Skinner said, WFAA reported. "I wanted to help him, and all I could do is offer my condolences and a hug." Skinner added that neighbors were already coming together to support the family. "I'll be over there. I'll be helping out any way that I can," he said.