Prineville woman accused of driving on wheel rim, sparking 10-acre brush fire, refuses to appear in court on 13 charges

(Update: Attorney enters not guilty pleas on suspect's behalf; details of allegations)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Prineville woman who allegedly sped east on Highway 126 Friday evening, dragging a tire and driving on a wheel rim that threw sparks and caused a destructive 10-acre wildfire, refused to appear in court from jail Monday to face one felony and a dozen misdemeanor charges.

But as is customary, whether a defendant appears or not, the attorney for Rachel Christina Carter, 44, entered not guilty pleas on her behalf to a Class C felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer single counts of reckless driving and reckless burning, six counts of reckless endangering, three counts of second-degree criminal mischief and one count of first-degree animal abuse.

Circuit Judge Annette Hillman set a $100,000 bail for Carter and scheduled arraignment on Thursday afternoon for an expected grand jury indictment. The criminal mischief counts involve damage to properties, including a Powell Butte couple’s destroyed RV home, and the animal abuse count involves injury or death of an animal from the resulting fire on Stillman Road.

Defense attorney William Condron noted that he also is representing Carter on previous charges and that there are pending motions regarding her ability to aid and assist in her own defense. He said “it’s been difficult” to get a needed mental evaluation completed, so they have tried to do so while she was out of custody. One is set for later this month at the Oregon State Hospital.

If Carter manages to post bail, the judge ordered Carter to not drive without a valid license and insurance, comply with any safety plan and treatment and not to have contact with several alleged victims.

In a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, a sheriff’s deputy told of the numerous calls Friday evening reporting a car with its rear passenger tire dislodged and dragging behind the vehicle, causing smoke and sparks to fly while speeding east of Highway 126 from Redmond through Powell Butte.

Two deputies turned their cars to stop her, but she sped away briefly before pulling over and refused to get out, saying she’d been assaulted by an officer in the past and holding up a camera to say she was recording the officers, the deputy said.

The deputy placed “stop sticks” in front of the front tire and the car was soon blocked in by two patrol cars. He said Carter was warned dozens of times to comply before a window-break tool was used to shatter the rear driver’s side window, then unlock the door and get her out.

He noted that once arrested, Carter “somewhat complied” with being handcuffed but tried to bite the deputy’s finger when put in the patrol car. Once at the jail, they learned she’d slipped out of her handcuffs and new ones were used.

Crook County dispatchers received several calls around 6 p.m. Friday reporting a gold-colored Volvo speeding eastbound on Highway 126 near the Crook-Deschutes County line, Sergeant Tim Durheim said.

Callers said the car, first reported near milepost 3.5, was dragging a tire and throwing sparks, Durheim said. Eventually, one caller reported the car had caused a fire near Highway 126 and Stillman Road.

Responding deputies arrived minutes later and saw several homes and structures were threatened by the wind-fanned, fast-growing fire, the sergeant said.

Sheriff’s deputies, assisted by Oregon State Police troopers, quickly began evacuating the nearby homes. Soon, a Level 3 GO NOW evacuation was issued for all homes on the east side of Stillman Road and all of Steffey Lane. That was dropped about five hours later to Level 2 BE SET an the residents were allowed to return home, Durheim said.

Crook County Fire and Rescue firefighters were joined by Alfalfa and Cloverdale firefighters and units from the Oregon Department of Forestry, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and a structure-protection ask force from the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office in an air and ground attack to stop the fire, contained at about 10 acres.

Despite thick stands of trees, tall grass and closely spaced structures, no stick-built homes were lost, but several outbuildings and RVs were destroyed or damaged by the fire. No injuries were reported.

Due to the proximity of the highway to the fire and congestion from firefighting apparatus, a three-mile stretch of Highway 126 five miles west of Prineville was closed, with traffic detoured onto secondary roads, Durheim said. A small section of SW Stillman Road was closed through the night and into early Saturday afternoon.

Deputies and Prineville Police officers stopped the car as it neared Prineville and Carter was arrested and taken to the county jail, where she was held without bail pending arraignment on six counts of reckless endangering, two counts of reckless burning and reckless driving.

All evacuation levels have been lifted, deputies said Saturday evening.

Durheim added, "The Crook County Sheriff's Office would like to thank Abby's Pizza and Starbucks for providing food and drink to the firefighters and law enforcement on scene."

The Stillman Fire was reported 6 p.m. and burned about 10 acres, closing the highway five miles west of Prineville, near milepost 13, also prompting Level 3 GO NOW and some Level 2 BE READY evacuation alert for a smaller area to the west, later expanded to the south.

Crook County Sheriff John Gautney said the sparks from the car ignited the dry grass along the road.

Highway 126 reopened late Friday night as crews made further progress putting out the blaze.

Crook County Fire & Rescue had fire crews on scene throughout the night. SW Stillman Road was reduced to local traffic only.

The latest Crook County evacuation map can be found here.

Sheriff's Lt. Mitch Madden said in an initial Facebook video post from near SW Steffey Lane, “We do have an active and fast-moving wildfire” and that they were asking everybody to “avoid this area and if you are living in this area to leave immediately.”

A Red Cross evacuation center was opened at Powell Butte Christian Church, according to a later update from Undersheriff Bill Elliott.

Madden followed up around 7:40 p.m. with a video report saying that forward progress of the fire had been stopped, but mop-up work continued from the air and ground.

In an update around 9:15 p.m., the sheriff's office said "Fire crews are still working on extinguishing the fire. The winds are still out of the north-northwest and we are ensuring that we don't end up with any spot fires."

During the Highway 126 closure, ODOT had a detour in place between SW Parrish and Wiley roads; find updates at www.tripcheck.com.