Homicide suspect speeds through a crime scene before his fatal crash, Florida cops say
A homicide suspect sped through an unrelated crime scene before dying in a crash, according to Florida police.
A police officer pulled the man over just after midnight on March 23 because it appeared the tint of his car windows was too dark, according to a report from the Port Orange Police Department.
After getting the ID of the driver, 21-year-old Montrail D. Johnson, the officer ran a check on his identification and learned that he had an active warrant out of another county in reference to a homicide, the report says.
The officer requested backup, drew his firearm and asked Johnson to put his hands out the window, according to the report.
After initially following that order, Johnson then fled in the car, the report says. The officer followed with his lights and sirens on, but Johnson continued driving.
Johnson then drove through an “active traffic homicide crime scene” that officers with the South Daytona Police Department were investigating, according to the report. Johnson struck the victim’s motorcycle and nearly hit several officers, the report says.
That scene was the site of a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred at around 8 p.m., according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. When Johnson sped through, officers had to dive over guardrails to avoid being hit, the outlet reported.
He continued driving as the officers who chasing him stopped following and checked on the investigators at the crime scene, according to the report.
Just before 12:15 a.m., about 10 minutes after Johnson was initially pulled over, officers with the Daytona Beach Police Department were flagged down to respond to another crash. A man was outside of a vehicle and was not breathing, according to the police department.
Investigators later identified the man as Johnson, the incident report says. He was taken to a hospital with “severe trauma” injuries and was pronounced dead at around 12:50 a.m.
The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, the agency that issued the warrant for Johnson’s arrest, did not immediately respond to a request for information from McClatchy News.
Port Orange is about 60 miles northeast of Orlando.
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