THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 19, 1994 TAG: 9407190318
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
A Pasquotank County woman was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of her two daughters, who were killed last spring in a fiery car crash on U.S. 17 just north of Elizabeth City.
A Pasquotank County Superior Court grand jury handed down a six-count indictment Monday against Jeannette Collier Johnson, 32. The charges include two counts each of involuntary manslaughter, felony death by motor vehicle and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
Johnson's two daughters, Erika Morgan Johnson, 6, and Saralisa Danielle Johnson, 9, were killed May 15 after the car they were riding in was struck from the rear by another automobile and burst into flames.
State police said earlier that Johnson had parked her 1984 Chrysler New Yorker on the highway around 1:30 a.m. when it was struck by another car, causing the Chrysler's gas tank to explode.
The two Johnson sisters had been sitting in the back seat when the collision occurred. Johnson and another man, Juan Jose ``John'' Estaban, were outside the car when it was struck.
Estaban, 36, who shared a residence with Johnson at the time of the car crash, was not charged Monday.
Johnson was expected to be arrested and her case set for arraignment at an unspecified date, District Attorney H.P. Williams Jr., who represents the 1st Judicial District, said Monday.
Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Felony death by motor vehicle, which in this case involves operating a car while impaired, includes up to five years imprisonment, Williams said.
Misdemeanor death by motor vehicle has a maximum sentence of two years in jail, he said.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITIES MURDER
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