Suspect arrested for felony DUI following 2 crashes that leave 3 injured – including pedestrian

2020 file photo for illustrative purposes only of officers responding to scene on North 2450 East on an alleged shooting, St. George, Utah, July 9, 2020 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A local man is in jail on felony DUI and other charges after police say his vehicle struck a female pedestrian on N. 2450 East and while fleeing blew a stop sign and collided with two other vehicles a few blocks away.

Map with red arrows depicting the two crash scenes, the first is at 2450 East and 600 North, while the second takes place at 2450 East and 450 North in St. George, Utah, Sept. 15, 2022 | Image courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News

On Thursday shortly after 9 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 600 block of N. 2450 East in St. George. While en route, police were advised that the vehicle had reportedly fled the scene. 

According to charging documents filed in 5th District Court, officers arrived to find a secondary crash less than three blocks away. 

The pedestrian at the first crash scene appeared to be seriously injured and was breathing but unconscious. They were transported to St. George Regional Hospital with multiple lacerations and a head wound.  

Meanwhile, several witnesses at the scene reportedly told responding officers they had seen a gold sports utility vehicle strike the pedestrian and the driver fled. The SUV then crashed into a vehicle at the intersection of E. 450 North and 2450 East, less than two blocks away. 

According to the report, investigators found gold paint chips at the scene where the pedestrian was struck, which further supported the witness statements obtained by police. 

At the secondary scene, evidence suggested that after the suspect’s vehicle struck the pedestrian, the SUV fled south at a high rate of speed and then blew the stop sign at the intersection of 450 North and 2450 East. 

The SUV entered the intersection where it collided with two vehicles crossing through both the east and the westbound lanes. The drivers in both vehicles reported bodily injuries.

Police said the driver of the gold SUV was identified as 23-year-old Kord Devan Johnson, who officers say appeared to have bloodshot, watery eyes with constricted pupils. While speaking to the suspect, officers noted Johnson had slurred speech and an “overwhelming” odor of alcohol coming from his breath. 

When asked, the suspect told officers he had drunk “a couple of shots and three or four beers” three to four hours prior to the incident and also said he was on several medications, including one to treat alcohol use. 

The suspect told officers he was unable to complete the field sobriety test due to pain in his tailbone.

Stock image for illustrative purposes of St. George Fire engines on N. 2450 East in St. George, Utah, July 9, 2020 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

The report also states a breathalyzer test was administered at the scene and revealed Johnson had a blood alcohol concentration of .320 — more than six times the legal limit in Utah. 

The suspect was arrested and transported to the St. George Police Department, where investigators requested several chemical tests to be administered in order to “have a thorough understanding of the substances in Kord’s system,” since the breathalyzer is confined to analyzing only the level of alcohol in the suspect’s system. 

While arranging for the tests, the report alleges Johnson told officers they may find Xanax in his system, which is an anti-anxiety medication.

The suspect was then taken to the hospital to be medically cleared. While there, officers checked in on the pedestrian who was “still very out of it,” the officer said, adding she had no memory of the crash. 

Officers also noticed a large laceration across her forehead that was stitched closed, as well as swelling and dark bruising to the right side of her face. They also noted there was significant road rash on both of her hands, arms and her left shoulder. 

“It is very evident,”  the officer wrote, that the victim will have visible scarring for the rest of her life, “at a minimum,” with the potential for internal trauma as well. 

A background check on the driver revealed that Johnson was on probation for a 2019 felony drug case. Due to the high level of alcohol in his blood at the time of the crashes, officers determined the suspect was an interdicted person, or one who is prohibited from drinking alcohol under the terms of his probation.   

The suspect was cleared at the hospital and then booked into jail facing multiple charges, including two third-degree felony charges for leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury and driving under the influence of alcohol. 

He also faces two misdemeanor counts of DUI, along with one count each of reckless driving and unlawful purchase by an interdicted person.

The officer requested that Johnson be held without bail, citing that “any reasonable person would know” that operating a vehicle with that level of alcohol in their system would put the public in danger, in addition to the suspect being on felony probation at the time of the incidents. The request was approved and the suspect remains in custody without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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