LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Lancaster woman has pled guilty to 22 charges stemming from a deadly DUI crash she caused in February of 2021 that killed her 11-year-old son and an unborn child in Manheim Township.
According to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, Jennifer Johnson, 38, did not contest that she committed the following felonies: aggravated assault of an unborn child, homicide by vehicle while DUI, aggravated assault by vehicle while DIU, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle, three counts of accidents involving death or injury while not licensed, and endangering the welfare of children.
Johnson also pled no contest to six misdemeanors and seven summary offenses in the open guilty plea she entered before Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth, who will impose sentencing after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation.
On Feb. 23, 2021, around 8:26 p.m., the Manheim Township Police Department responded to the bridge near Lititz Pike and Keller Avenue for the report of a vehicle crash and entrapment.
A witness had a dashcam video in his personal vehicle that captured the collision, which was provided to police.
The video reportedly showed a green Honda Accord pass the witness while driving southbound across the bridge before fishtailing into oncoming traffic and striking a black Toyota Highlander head-on.
Johnson and her 11-year-old son were trapped in the Honda Accord and extracted. As Lancaster EMS paramedics tended to Johnson in an ambulance, police detected a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and slurred speech.
Police reportedly discovered multiple empty alcoholic containers inside the Honda Accord.
A blood draw showed Johnson had a BAC of 0.262% less than two hours after the crash. The legal limit is 0.08%.
The 11-year-old victim was transported to a local hospital after suffering a collapsed lung and aortic dissection in the crash. Due to the significance of the injuries, he was transported via helicopter to a Philadelphia hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
An autopsy completed by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office determined the 11-year-old's cause of death to be blunt force trauma from injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators further discovered Johnson was 16 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash, which she was aware of as her pregnancy was confirmed with her family doctor in January 2021.
Johnson’s fetus sustained fatal injuries and its heartbeat stopped a few days after the crash.
The two occupants of the Toyota Highlander suffered injuries including spleen damage, closed fractures to multiple ribs, intervertebral disc rupture, leiomyoma of the uterus, spinal stenosis, abdominal wall hematoma, three fractured metatarsals, and a Lisfranc’s dislocation.
A vehicle crash reconstruction completed by police determined Johnson was traveling between 67.57 and 69.19 miles per hour in a 25 MPH zone and that both vehicles involved had no mechanical issues and would’ve passed inspection.
Johnson and the 11-year-old victim were not wearing seatbelts.
