Police say driver struck Yuma officer before I-8 chase with 91-year-old passenger

A driver struck a Yuma police officer and fled east on Interstate 8 with a 91-year-old woman in the vehicle on Oct. 11, according to the Yuma Police Department. The pursuit ended near milepost 43, and the woman was taken to Onvida Health in stable condition.

The Arizona court case index and Yuma County jail record identify the suspect as Jeffrey Alan Proett, 57. Separate criminal complaints were filed Oct. 13 in Yuma and Wellton justice courts. The allegations have not been proved in court.

From a gas station to Interstate 8

The police account reproduced by Monster Media says an officer spotted a vehicle at about 3:39 a.m. Sunday after it had fled Wellton police earlier. The vehicle was traveling the wrong way in the 1500 block of East 16th Street before pulling into a gas station.

The officer approached and ordered the driver out. Police say the driver struck him, then drove away, knocking him down and causing minor injuries. The officer reported over the radio that an elderly woman in the vehicle was unresponsive.

Officers located the vehicle again and began an eastbound pursuit on I-8. Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers took over and used stop sticks near milepost 43. When the driver refused to get out, Yuma's Special Enforcement Team was called. Police said he was taken into custody without further incident.

The passenger, who police said knew the driver, was transported to Onvida Health. The department reported her condition as stable. Its account does not establish when or where the alleged kidnapping began or describe the relationship between the two. The woman's identity is not reported here.

Two court cases, and figures that need explaining

The Yuma Justice Court index shows six counts in the complaint filed Oct. 13: three aggravated-assault counts, kidnapping, an abuse allegation and unlawful imprisonment. A separate Wellton Justice Court case lists unlawful flight from a pursuing law-enforcement vehicle and records a not-guilty plea on Oct. 13. Neither index shows a disposition on those counts.

The records also give different bond figures. The Yuma court index lists a $100,000 bond in that case on Oct. 13. The jail booking page, rechecked Oct. 14, shows $150,000 in its total-bond field. The first figure is tied to a specific case; the second is an aggregate jail entry. Earlier bond and charge entries remain visible on the roster, so adding the displayed amounts would not establish the current conditions for release. Those require the signed court orders.

There is a similar gap in the charge totals. KYMA reported 10 charges, including eight felonies, and an Oct. 21 preliminary hearing. The court index and jail roster do not present an identical combined list. The signed complaints, bond orders and hearing record were not available in the material reviewed through Oct. 14.

The Arizona court portal cautions that its online index may be incomplete and is not the official court record. What the available entries establish is that the arrest led to separate proceedings in Yuma and Wellton. They do not yet support a definitive combined charge count or a fully reconciled bond amount.