A Shelby County family is asking for help replacing their 19-year-old daughter’s vehicle which was stolen while she was working, the theft leading to a chain of events that ended in a police chase and a shooting that left one Bibb County deputy sheriff dead and another wounded.
A GoFundMe was launched Saturday to help replace Miranda Rouse’s vehicle. The Calera High School graduate who lives with Tourette’s, Autism, a heart condition, depression and PTSD, was working as a delivery driver to help raise money for college.
After Miranda’s 2008 Toyota Camry was shot up and totaled in the ordeal that took the life Deputy Brad Johnson and wounded Deputy Chris Poole, her family says their insurance company denied their claim to replace the teen’s vehicle because she was “using it for commercial purposes.”
It was a blow to Miranda and her parents, Alan and Natalie Rouse.
“She was pretty shocked at first,’’ said Alan Rouse, Miranda’s father. “This was her livelihood. She’s had a lot of difficulties in her life.”
Miranda was working as a part-time delivery driver for Papa John’s Pizza on Monday, June 27, when her car was stolen outside the Calera restaurant as she picked up another order.
That theft, which was captured on surveillance video, was done at the hands of 26-year-old convicted felon Austin Patrick Hall, authorities said.
It was early Monday afternoon, June 27, when Miranda had just finished one delivery and returned to Papa John’s to pick up another. She was only inside a few minutes.
“She came out and the car was gone,’’ said Rouse, her father.
“She’s tried several jobs and physically she was unable to do jobs that required her to stand a lot and do a lot of bending,’’ Rouse said. “This was the first job she liked, and she could physically do.”
“She is a hard worker,’’ he said. “She has a lot of aspirations for her life, and she’s been faced with a lot of difficulty, but she works hard to try to overcome them.”
Miranda graduated from Calera High School with a 3.4 GPA and received a partial academic scholarship to Montevallo.
“She is an amazing young adult that has such a big heart and plans to become a mental health social worker,’’ according to the GoFundMe. “
Miranda started at the University of Montevallo last fall but had to withdraw after a couple of weeks because she was diagnosed with Orthostatic hypotension.
“So, she has spent the last 10 months to try to get in a better condition which she has,’’ Rouse said. “She’s been trying to make money for school because we’re trying to help her avoid the student loan trap.”
Two days after Miranda’s car was stolen, the family was at their Calera home when a Blue Alert sounded over their cell phones, signaling a search was underway for a suspect that had injured a law enforcement officer.
“I kind of thought that was odd because it was a stolen car, not far from our house, and I found an old mugshot of Austin Hall,’’ Rouse said.
He had security footage from the car theft and compared it to the initial mugshot of Hall, which happened to be an old mugshot in which his head was shaved.
Austin Patrick Hall is charged with capital murder in the June 29, 2022, slaying of Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson. He is charged with attempted murder in the wounding of Deputy Chris Poole. (Shelby County Jail)
“I said, ‘That’s not the guy,’’’ Rouse said. “Then I saw a new mugshot where he had a chin beard and told my daughter, ‘That’s the guy who stole your car.’ I said, ‘I pray it’s not because a cop lost his life, and I don’t even want to be involved in something like that.’’
The following day, Calera police notified the Rouse family that it was their car that had been involved.
Rouse said the rear of the Toyota, and the rear quarter panels, had been “smashed up pretty good,’’ the windows had been shot out and there were bullet holes in the vehicle.
“The police officer said he’s not sure it’s even drivable,’’ Rouse said.
Rouse filed an insurance claim, but it was denied. Twice.
“They denied her claim saying she was using for commercial purpose and under their policy, they don’t cover that,’’ he said. “That differs greatly from their competitors who say if you’re using it for less than 40 percent business purposes, you’re covered under your personal insurance.”
Rouse works as an accountant for Issis & Sons Carpet Inc. His wife retired from UAB for health reasons.
“We try to live a financially modest life,’’ Rouse said. “My wife is unable to work due to Fibromyalgia, we have a daughter who has special needs, and our medical bills are quite extensive.”
The family started the GoFundMe less than 24 hours ago, and already it has raised nearly $3,000. Donations can be made here.
“We are blown away by peoples’ generosity,’’ Rouse said. “We’re really humbled that the community has stepped up like this. People we don’t even know have donated. “
“It’s just means the world to us that our community is rallying around us,” he said. “We’re just really humbled and grateful.”
