Officials: Wrong-way driver 4x over legal limit in crash that killed 1, injured others

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) – Arizona officials said a wrong-way driver taken into custody after allegedly causing a crash that left a child dead and others hurt had a blood alcohol content level four times the legal limit.

KPHO reports Allen Michael Jackson was arrested and booked into jail over the weekend.

Around 5 p.m. on Sunday, authorities said Johnson was driving westbound in the eastbound lanes on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway near 24th Street in Phoenix.

Police said Johnson’s girlfriend and her two children were also inside the vehicle when he struck another woman’s car, causing a five-car pileup.

First responders rushed Johnson’s girlfriend and her two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, to the hospital. The boy was pronounced dead on Monday, according to officials. The girl remains in critical condition. Johnson’s girlfriend and the woman in the other vehicle are still recovering in the hospital.

Court documents obtained by KPHO said Johnson admitted to drinking before the crash and knew he was going the wrong way but didn’t feel “impaired” by the alcohol.

Officials said Johnson’s blood was drawn at the hospital, revealing that he had a blood alcohol level of .327, which is over four times the legal limit of .08.

KPHO reported drivers in Arizona can be charged with DUI regardless of BAC.

Michael Schwab, a witness to the crash, said he is still haunted by the devastating crash.

“I saw one of the worst crashes in my life,” he told KPHO.

Schwab said he is grateful for the good Samaritans who jumped into action to direct traffic around the crash and help the victims.

“Everybody was so caring that day. I mean we have hope, especially here in Phoenix, everybody just came together,” he said.

Schwab said he hopes Johnson is punished for the deadly wreck.

“I hope he faces the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

Johnson was charged with second-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault. He is being held on a $1 million bond.

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