Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Beloved Granddad Dragged to Death by Carjacker, Karma Crushes Crook on Highway| Crime Alert 6AM 02.26.2026

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

A loving grandfather is hauled a half a mile by a carjacker-who then gets flattened by a freight truck when he tries to flee the scene.  Justice hits a major roadblock, when a serial distracted hit-and-run driver is released early from prison after serving a fraction of her sentence. Plus, suspect's getaway gets trashed!  Jennifer Gould reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert, hourly update. Breaking Crime News Now. I'm Jennifer Gould. Imagine saying goodbye to your grandkid at a bus stop, only to have a savage stranger yank you from your car and drag your body like roadkill for nearly half a mile. That is the gut-wrenching fate that befell 67-year-old Donald Russell, a devoted grandfather, whose routine drop-off in Toledo, Ohio, erupted into a deadly nightmare, one that ended with his attacker smashed to smithereens on a roaring interstate.

The horror kicked off at the Greyhound Station on Emerald Avenue. Russell had just bid farewell to his granddaughter, Anaya Fell, when 38-year-old Jesse Motz pounced. Mote's a father of three from West Virginia allegedly assaulted the senior and hijacked his Red Ford fusion. In a scene of pure carnage, Russell became entangled in his own seatbelt and was dragged approximately half a mile to South Erie Street, his body grinding against the pavement. Granddaughter Anita Fell spoke to KTBX, 3 News. My grandpa was dragged out of the car by his feet. Somebody hijacked the car and was pulling him out of the car when I was just so scared. The brutal friction tore the clothes from his back and left his.

him scraped raw with kidney failure and critical internal wounds. While Russell initially clung to life in a coma, Toledo police confirmed he succumbed to the catastrophic injuries on February 23rd. Karma, however, did not miss its exit. Modes barreled onto northbound I-75, lost control and wrecked the stolen car. In a frantic bid to escape on foot, the carjacker leaped over a semi-examination. and barrier and sprinted directly into the path of a commercial semi-truck. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after.

Authorities have not released a motive from Mote's sudden descent into violence. No word if he has any priors. The Toledo Police Department is continuing to review the case as autopsy results remain pending. The investigation continues. Police urge anyone with information on the case to call. contact crime stoppers at 419-255-11. More crime and justice news after this. The scales of justice have not just tipped in Riverside County, California.

They've been obliterated. In a move described as a, quote, stab in the gut, Naomi Renee Vallado, the 28-year-old woman who mowed down a 21-year-old bicyclist while texting her boyfriend was released from prison. early, despite a judge sentencing her to nine years for the 2020 killing of Benjamin Montalvo in Corona, California. Vallado walked free after serving less than a third of her time, leaving a grieving family trapped in a life sentence of agony.

Ben's mom, Kelly Montalvo, spoke to ABC 7. Why do they give a sentence if it's not going to be enforced? It's a huge slap in the face. This was not a tragic accident. It was a lethal pattern of negligence. Prosecutors revealed Vallado was impaired and exchanged 24 texts in the minutes surrounding the impact, catapulting the young man into the air before she fled

to fix her windshield and cover her tracks. Even more sickening, this was her fifth at-fault crash and her fourth hit and run, hours after bailing out following the kids, killing. She was caught on camera toasting in Las Vegas, captioned, quote, living our best life, end quote, while the Montalvo's were shopping for a casket. California Department of Corrections officials cite good merit credits for the early release, but Kelly Montalvo is not buying it, saying, quote, there's no way this woman has been rehabilitated in just two and a half years, end quote. Riverside County prosecutors also

strongly opposed the release, labeling Velado a clear danger to the community. As the killer returns to the streets, she once treated as a personal texting zone. The Montalvo family continues to back SB 907 in Sacramento to classify vehicular manslaughter as a violent felony, which would block these get out of jail early cards. And finally, talk about a

Wasted effort, a Huber Heights Ohio traffic stop turned into a real refuse to cooperate when a fleeing driver tried to trash his problems. After ditching his car and vanishing, the suspect decided to recycle a hiding spot by diving into a bin. Been there, done that. He thought he was home free until a startled sanitation worker flipped the lid and found a hefty surprise, staring right back at him. The worker, of course, alerted police. And the suspect, now dubbed, Oscar the Grinch, popped his head out and bolted literally running out of his shoes.

Officers did not let him linger long. They picked up the trail and hauled him off to jail. It's safe to say his stinky getaway plan was officially now in the can. And now he is in a heap of trouble. For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast act. With this crime alert, I'm Jennifer Gould. Thank you.