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Jennifer Cheri Johnson, 39, of the 600 block of 4th Street, was found guilty on Dec. 4 following a three-day bench trial. The charges stem from a February 2021 crash in Manheim Township that killed her 11-year-old son, seriously injured two others, and left her unborn child unharmed, as Daily Voice previously reported.
Eyewitnesses reported Johnson was driving erratically, speeding, and fishtailing before she crossed into oncoming traffic near Lititz Pike and Keller Avenue, narrowly missing one vehicle before crashing head-on into another just before 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2021.
Johnson’s son, who was unbuckled in the front passenger seat, suffered blunt force trauma and a torn aorta. He died at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia the next morning at 5:30 a.m., authorities said.
The two occupants of the car Johnson struck, both older adults, suffered serious injuries that will impact them for the rest of their lives, prosecutors said during sentencing.
A blood draw taken less than two hours after the crash showed Johnson had a BAC of .262%. Her license was suspended at the time due to prior DUI convictions in 2007 and 2008.
In court, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams criticized the sentence, saying Johnson’s 19 months on house arrest, credited against her time served, means she will serve just over the mandatory minimum of seven years in prison.
“The defendant not only caused the death of her own son, but she severely injured another person, hurt a third, and endangered a fourth, all while recklessly driving under the influence of alcohol,” Adams said. “The actions of the defendant were appalling and we believe justified a substantial period of incarceration well above the minimum sentence allowed by the legislature.”
During sentencing, President Judge David Ashworth called Johnson’s car a “weapon” and said, “You clearly were not a good mother on the night of this accident.”
Johnson apologized in court, saying she regretted “taking away” her son from her family and struggled to understand why she survived the crash. However, Assistant District Attorney Kyle Linardo argued that Johnson showed a pattern of recklessness, endangering her family and others by driving drunk despite knowing the risks.
Johnson was approximately 12 weeks pregnant at the time of the crash, and her surviving three daughters are being cared for by family.
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