Fatal Crash At I-15 And Cal Oaks In Murrieta: Felon Must Stand Trial

MURRIETA, CA — A felon accused of fleeing California Highway Patrol officers while driving under the influence of drugs and crashing as he tried to exit Interstate 15, killing a passenger and severely injuring another, must stand trial for gross vehicular manslaughter and other offenses, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Timmy Lee Johnson Jr., 24, of Lancaster was arrested in April following the 120 mph chase and crash at I-15 and California Oaks Road in Murrieta.

At the end of a preliminary hearing Tuesday at the Southwest Justice Center, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial on the manslaughter count, as well as felony evading, hit-and-run resulting in great bodily injury, causing an accident that resulted in a serious injury or fatality and fleeing the scene of a crime.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Sept. 12 at the Murrieta courthouse and left Johnson's bail set at $2 million.

He's being held at the nearby Byrd Detention Center.

According to the California Highway Patrol, shortly after 4 a.m. on April 15, a CHP unit patrolling southbound I-15, just north of Magnolia Avenue, in Corona spotted Johnson's Jeep Compass without license plates and initiated a traffic stop on the freeway.

Officer Javier Navarro alleged the defendant failed to yield and instead stepped on the accelerator, continuing southbound.

"During the pursuit, the Jeep reached speeds up to 127 mph, exiting and re-entering the freeway several times," Navarro said.

He said additional patrol units joined the pursuit, following Johnson as he raced into Murrieta.

"The driver exited southbound I-15 at California Oaks Road, where he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway and overturned," the CHP spokesman said.

Two passengers, 22-year-old Trayvon Ford of Los Angeles and another man whose identity was not disclosed, were ejected from the SUV and hurled onto the roadway, according to Navarro.

Johnson and another occupant of the Jeep, whose identity wasn't released, ran away as CHP officers converged on the location, Navarro said.

Both men were apprehended within a few minutes without further incident.

Ford and the other party ejected onto California Oaks were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where Ford died less than an hour later. The other victim suffered major injuries from which he ultimately recovered.

Navarro said Johnson exhibited signs of being under the influence of controlled substances, which toxicology tests allegedly confirmed. The defendant was hospitalized for minor injuries but booked into jail a couple days later.

The other man who fled from the overturned SUV was not charged in connection with the pursuit.

Court records show that Johnson had an outstanding felony warrant for alleged child abuse in another county. He also has a prior felony conviction in another jurisdiction that wasn't specified.