Texas Mother Seeks Justice After Teen's 2020 Death In Tuscaloosa

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A heartbroken Veronica Rodriguez recalled picking up her daughter's belongings one by one, article by article, after they were violently scattered along the side of Highway 82 the night of Aug. 19, 2020.

A hairbrush. A bottle of perfume. Socks. Each serving as its own painful reminder.

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Just hours before, 19-year-old Jada Christin Harris of Lewisville, Texas, was killed in a head-on collision allegedly caused by a Coker man as he drove the wrong way at a high rate of speed in a stolen 2011 Chevy Tahoe, with Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's deputies in pursuit.

"The Jeep she was driving, she had everything — her whole life — in that Jeep," Rodriguez told Patch in an interview. She went on to explain that her daughter, who had been a freshman captain on the Stillman College dance team, was coming back from Montgomery, where she had planned to move so she could attend Alabama State University.

Harris was a careful and cautious driver, her mother said. In fact, according to a copy of the state trooper crash report obtained by Patch, she was driving 64 mph when she was hit head on, which is below the posted speed limit of 65.

Conversely, 36-year-old Michael Ray Roberts Jr. — the driver of the Tahoe who has an extensive criminal record — was driving 78 mph in the wrong direction when he struck the Jeep head-on.

As Patch reported that evening, Harris was pronounced dead at the scene and Roberts was transported to DCH Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. This, however, would not be before he was arrested for murder and theft, along with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance.

His bond at the time of his arrest was initially set at $215,000. However, Tuscaloosa County Jail records obtained by Patch show that Roberts bonded out on March 19, 2021 after his bond was lowered to $150,000.

Represented by public defender Joseph P. Van Heest at the time of his not guilty plea, Roberts argued in vain to have his bond on the murder charge lowered to $75,000 in February — a request that was ultimately denied by Circuit Judge James H. Roberts. As part of the effort, his attorney cited a past motorcycle wreck that left Roberts with only one leg, in addition to other injuries suffered in the August 2020 wreck that caused him to be a "risk" if incarcerated in the Tuscaloosa County Jail awaiting trial.

Judge Roberts issued a writ to arrest Michael Ray Roberts Jr. after he failed to show at the Oct. 25 call docket that was set to discuss the status of or schedule cases for trial during the first two weeks of November. TCSO and court records show that he’s still wanted.

More questions than answers

What Patch did not report the night of the fatal crash — because it was not known at the time — was the crash potentially being the culmination of a high-speed police pursuit.

This is where Rodriguez raised valid questions that Patch set out to answer. She told me that she was never informed of the high-speed chase until she received a copy of the crash report. It was a detail that received no local media coverage at the time and was not included in the initial media announcement by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency when the investigation was in its earliest stages.

This has caused Rodriguez's mind to race as she considers the spectrum of possibilities. But she admitted that she can't help but focus on what role, if any, the high-speed chase might have played in the death of her daughter.

Crash Diagram

Here's a look at the official diagram in the ALEA crash report. For clarity, "Unit 1" is the stolen vehicle driven by Michael Ray Roberts Jr. "Unit 2" is the Jeep Patriot that was driven by Jada Harris.

She also expressed her anger at learning that Roberts was out of confinement and unaccounted for.

"I didn’t understand from the very beginning of the accident," Rodriguez said. "They were in pursuit of him and I didn't know that. And I don’t understand how this man is driving the wrong way, kills my daughter and just gets out. Does the judge or anybody trust that he is going to do what he says and come back to go on trial?"

Patch has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office to obtain dash camera footage of the pursuit that ended in the fatal head-on collision.

However, Tuscaloosa Police Department spokeswoman Stephanie Taylor confirmed to Patch that city officers did assist deputies in the high-speed chase. The separate account lays out an independent timeline that is in line with other facts in the case that we have confirmed.

Taylor explained that TPD officers were asked for their assistance at 10:34 p.m. that night as Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's deputies pursued the driver of the stolen Tahoe as it approached Skyland Boulevard from Buttermilk Road. The pursuit saw the suspect vehicle lead officers to JVC Road, then Skyland Boulevard, during which time the suspect's vehicle hit estimated speeds of 80 mph.

TPD's account states that the suspect driver ran through a red traffic light at the intersection of Skyland Boulevard and Hargrove Road, moving at dangerous speeds on the wrong side of Skyland Boulevard in the westbound lanes.

"They then turned left onto McFarland Boulevard, and the suspect remained on the wrong side of the road as they approached Jug Factory Road," Taylor said.

She went on to say the pursuit was terminated at 10:40 p.m., with officers notifying the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office that the driver was heading toward their jurisdiction.

While some clarity has been brought to the timelines regarding that tragic night, Rodriguez is still pained with her own doubts and questions regarding the investigation and the incident itself.

"I just keep going back and forth in my head about it," she lamented. "They took so long to get me the police report. When we were at the scene, it looked like a car had come over the median, but on the report, it looked like he was coming the wrong way on the street. It looked like she got hit from the left side."

Saddened, but steadfast in her quest for justice for her daughter, Rodriguez more than a year later is still very much a grieving mother who continues to relive the tragedy with each new day.

"I just need answers," she said, choking up from overwhelming emotions. "She was a star to me. She was a big loss to our family and I just don’t know what happened. On January 26, she would have been 21 years old."

'Jada just deserves justice'

Harris — one of three children for Rodriguez — grew up in Irving, Texas, and was the captain of her high school dance team. It would be this lifelong passion for dance that saw her earn a scholarship to Stillman College in Tuscaloosa.

"She was the first freshman captain there," her mother remembered. "And she just excelled, but she was just ready to go into something bigger."

It would be those ambitions that saw Harris change her focus to Alabama State University in Montgomery, where she was gearing up to join its widely-celebrated dance team.

"It was that Wednesday night and it was sprinkling a little bit," Rodriguez said. "She had a Bluetooth where she could drive and talk. She would never hold her phone when she was driving. We talked about everything and when we got off the phone, we both said I love you. At 4:30 that morning, that's when I got the knock on the door and found out. I think it happened less than 10 minutes after I had gotten off the phone with her."

Rodriguez then thought back to fond memories from Jada's childhood, beaming with pride when she recalled her little girl's intelligence, straight-As on report cards and her all-consuming passion for dance.

"She competed in so many dances competitions, so I have so many trophies and certificates," she said. "I have to buy frames for them all, but it would cover a whole room. It’s a huge loss for us. I looked to her to help me with her siblings and she was just the glue that kept the family together. Now that she’s gone, we still feel that loss."

It's been difficult, if not impossible, for Rodriguez to move on from the tragedy — a heartbreak that is compounded by the weight of myriad questions left in its aftermath.

"God has helped me through with just prayer, alot of prayer, and there are friends and family and having that support. But sometimes I don’t understand how I go to bed. Everything reminds me of her. I just pray for strength. I know God doesn’t give you nothing you can't handle. Jada just deserves justice and so much more. I don’t want nothing to go to waste in her life."

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