the tractor-trailer’s driver was 22-year-old Dawaun Johnson from Illinois, a trainee who was a passenger in the semi-truck was not hurt, police say.
He tested at nearly twice the legal blood-alcohol level more than two hours after the crash, according to a Michigan State Police report.
He told police he had been mentoring a trainee, who had been driving for nearly all of the day, and then he took over driving, but had been dozing off before he veered off the highway and into the fuel pumps at the station. Johnson took over driving about half an hour before the crash, because his trainee was approaching his hours cap.
A blood draw conducted at 1:41 a.m. showed Johnson had a blood-alcohol level of .156.
Johnson estimated he had consumed a pint of E&J brandy from a 750-milliliter bottle back in the truck’s cabin while his trainee was driving
Johnson is charged with operating while intoxicated – causing death, a 15-year felony. He received two additional charges earlier this month — operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and a misdemeanor count of having an open alcohol container in a vehicle.
Dawaun K. Johnson was originally scheduled for a preliminary exam Dec. 13. That hearing was pushed to Feb. 14, before being adjourned again March 28, 2023 in Baraga County District Court.
Update May 26:
Johnson is bound over to circuit court
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