U.S. marshals find, arrest fugitive truck driver charged in Highway 97 crash that killed La Pine woman
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Nearly a year after a nationwide arrest warrant was issued, federal marshals have found and arrested a Florida truck driver charged in a 2024 crash on Highway 97 that killed a La Pine woman.
Desiree Danielle Johnson, 35, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was arrested Friday by the Florida Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force in Pinellas Park, Florida, Oregon State Police reported.
Johnson is charged with criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault and reckless driving in the Feb. 29, 2024 crash on icy Highway 97 south of La Pine in northern Klamath County that killed La Pine-area teaching assistant Elise Adair Farrens, 37.
Troopers said Johnson lost control of her semi-truck, which spun out of control and crossed into the path of a northbound Honda Pilot driven by Farrens.
A passenger in the SUV, Daviana Trussell, 23, of La Pine, was seriously injured. She was 26 weeks pregnant and suffered the loss of her unborn child. Johnson reportedly suffered minor injuries.
The indictment alleged Johnson was "driving recklessly, in a snowstorm, without chains (and) without the necessary experience" at the time of the crash.
Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charges, and an arrest warrant was issued last February when she failed to appear for a pre-trial conference.
She is now being held at the Pinellas County Jail awaiting extradition to Oregon.
KTVZ News spoke in 2024 with Farrens' shocked, grieving twin sister. Elaine Medley called for tougher speed limits and regulations to curb speeding or reckless driving by truck drivers.
