Brittany Johns Car Accident: Arkansas Man, Brittany Johns Involved in “Tragic” Car Accident on I-55
Brittany Johns Car Accident: A police officer was positioned in the right travel lane of Interstate 55 just before the 1 southbound exit at around 7:03 p.m. on September 7, 2022. The Interstate 55 Bridge’s prior incident caused traffic to back up and be suspended.
A crimson Pontiac Grand Prix passed him on the right shoulder at a speed of about fifty miles per hour. The policeman pulled over to the right shoulder and turned on my blue lights to start a traffic stop.
A short distance in front of him, the red Pontiac stopped on the shoulder, and he called dispatch to report the traffic stop. The officer got out of his police car and approached the driver at the driver’s door. He introduced himself and gave the driver his reason for being stopped.
The motorist reportedly told the police when he questioned if he had a driver’s license, “No.” The automobile’s strong smell was instantly picked up by the policeman, who asked the driver to get out and meet him at the back of his car.
When he saw a woman in the passenger seat, he questioned her if she had any identity. She said no. According to the driver, he was attempting to get his ailing friend to the hospital.
As they talked about his ailing friend, the driver got out of his car and made his way to the trunk. The driver said he was trying to get to the exit so he could go back to the West Memphis hospital. The driver acknowledged having identification when the man questioned if he had any.
The driver provided the Illinois identity card with Erik Winfert’s name and Chicago Heights, Illinois, as the address when the officer also asked for it. When the officer asked Winfert if the car was his, he replied that a friend owned it. He asked Winfert if he understood his Miranda rights after outlining them. Winfert said, “I understand,” in the affirmative.
In addition, the officer claimed that both he and the car gave off a marijuana-like odor. When questioned if Winfert had anything illegal in his car, he responded, “No.” When he asked Winfert if he had any illegal items on him, the man said, “No.” In order to search Winfert for weapons, he gave the order for Winfert to place his hands on the trunk of his car. As he conducted the vehicle search, the officer directed Winfert to stand in front of the vehicle, away from oncoming traffic.
The male passenger was asked to exit the car as he reached the passenger door. He asked her whether she had anything illegal on her, to which she replied that she did not. The woman acknowledged understanding her Miranda rights when he read them to her and asked whether she agreed.
When questioned if there was anything illegal in the car, she answered “no.” She responded that she didn’t have any illicit materials in her handbag, which she had carried out of the car when he asked her if she did. She gave her permission after being told that her purse would be searched. He invited the woman to stand in front of the car with Winfert.
When trooper Garrett Byrd arrived, the officer gave him an explanation of the halt. He requested that Trooper Byrd provide SFSTs to Winfert in his police cruiser, who was obviously impaired. He had light green film on his tongue, red eyes, drooping eyelids, and was unsteady on his feet.
The female passenger become quite interested in what the police was looking at as he started looking around the car. She said there might be a pistol inside as she started to circle around to the back of the car on the driver’s side.
She was told to go back to the front of the car and that everything was OK. She turned around and walked back toward the police after retracing her steps to the front of the car. As she got inside the car, she said that there might be more goods inside. She put her car in drive, sped away, and the officer tried to stop her. He released her and went back to his patrol car.
When they were nearing a bridge, the officer called dispatch to say that he was pursuing the suspect. The red Pontiac was going over a hundred miles an hour on the right shoulder.
She may have wrecked, he reported to dispatch after seeing her car suddenly halt. He called an ambulance when he got close to the red Pontiac and informed dispatch that the driver had crashed. The red Pontiac was split in two after colliding with a box car. The female was lying on the floor where the back seats would normally be, with her legs in the front passenger area and her head on the floor.
The officer found an ID that identified the victim as Brittany Johns after Crittenden EMS transported her. He gave dispatch her name and date of birth. A NCIC search revealed that Johns has an active warrant out for his extradition from Illinois.
As he persisted in his search, he came across a.22 caliber revolver in the floorboard of the back passenger side. The firearm was photographed before being collected.
Winfert was taken to the Crittenden County Detention Center after being taken into custody for moving infractions. When the officer visited Winfert at the Crittenden County Detention Center, Winfert was charged with FELON IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM.