Ill. woman who intentionally crashed head-on into semi-tractor with son and mom was afraid of dying alone, sheriff says
Jamie L. Rhode, 47, was arrested on multiple counts including premeditated first-degree murder
NEED TO KNOW
- Jamie L. Rhode, 47, was arrested on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder
- She is accused of intentionally driving head-on into a semi-tractor
- Her mother, Cherie K. Wells, 73, later died of the injuries she sustained in the crash
An Illinois woman is accused of intentionally driving head-on into a semi-tractor, which left her mother — one of her passengers — dead.
Jamie L. Rhode, 47, was arrested on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the July head-on crash.
According to the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to a two-unit vehicle head-on crash on US 54 near the top of Atlas Hill on July 24 just before 8 p.m., between Rhode’s Toyota RAV4 and a semi-tractor pulling a trailer.
Rhode, her 73-year-old mother Cherie K. Wells, and Rhode’s teenaged son were injured in the collision. Wells later died from her injuries.
The semi-tractor driver was uninjured in the crash.
Authorities allegedly determined that Rhode “purposely steered her vehicle in front of the oncoming semi-tractor trailer with the intent of killing all occupants of her vehicle,” according to the news release.
“Her plan was to kill all three of them,” Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood tells PEOPLE. “Her plan was to kill herself and she was afraid of dying alone.”
An arrest warrant was signed on Oct. 16 by the Honorable Judge J. Frank McCartney for Rhode’s arrest.
She was taken into custody on Oct. 20, and is currently being housed at the Pike County Jail. She is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, Oct. 23.
