Probation for Harrison man convicted in fatal crash

JOPLIN, Mo. — A judge has granted probation to a man convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2011 vehicle crash that killed two Missouri Southern State University football players.

The Joplin Globe reported that 21-year-old Jeremy Johnson, of Harrison, Ark., had originally been given 120 days of "shock time," but was returned for resentencing Monday after the Missouri Department of Corrections determined he was ineligible for the state's shock incarceration program.

Johnson pleaded guilty June 24 to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the Dec. 2, 2011, deaths of Diondre Johnson and Michael McCrimmons, both 19 and from Springfield. Shock incarceration, however, is not an option for an involuntary manslaughter conviction.

In resentencing Jeremy Johnson, Circuit Judge Gayle Crane Crane placed him on supervised probation for five years and ordered that he complete 200 hours of community service. If he doesn't successfully complete the probation he could face jail time.

The westbound SUV Jeremy Johnson was driving ran off the road, struck some median cables and overturned, coming to rest in the eastbound passing lane of the interstate. Diondre Johnson was thrown from the vehicle. McCrimmons and another passenger were still in the vehicle when it was struck by an eastbound semitrailer. Jeremy Johnson, who had climbed out of the wreckage, was struck by a car.

Jeremy Johnson later tested at a blood-alcohol level of 0.11 percent, according to a probable-cause affidavit. The legal limit for Missouri drivers is 0.08 percent.

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