A Phoenix man has been sentenced to death in October 2021 after driving under the influence of more than four times the legal limit of blood alcohol in his girlfriend.
Maricopa County Senior Judge Chuck Whitehead has sentenced George E. Johnson, 39, to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of Tamirah Washington, 38.
In 2021, Johnson was driving the 202 loop with Washington in the passenger seat. Scottsdale in Tempe He was driving too fast when he got on the off-ramp of his road. He continued driving until the car’s brakes locked up and he hit a utility pole. The passenger side, where Washington was sitting, was the most damaged.
Washington died of his injuries within an hour of the crash. Johnson walked away with minor injuries.
At Johnson’s sentencing on Monday, Washington’s son read the letter to the judge and said how much he missed her. was felt.
Washington’s 14-year-old daughter said, “I’m writing this to let everyone know how it feels to lose your mother so young.
What happened to Tamirah Washington?
At approximately 5:09 am on October 16, 2021, Johnson was driving Loop 202 with Washington in the passenger seat. However, Johnson was driving too fast on the off-ramp to Scottsdale Road.
As he continued down the hill, Johnson’s brakes locked up. As a result, his red Nissan Altima jumped over the curb and crashed into a steel traffic light pole.
Washington sat on the side that suffered the most. She suffered multiple leg and pelvic fractures and died shortly afterwards.
Johnson was about to pull Washington out of the car when cops arrived. Officers noted in arrest documents that Johnson was “red and watery-eyed,” slurred, and smelled of alcohol.
While police tried to provide assistance to Washington, Johnson was enraged and arrested. Stated.
He was pronounced dead at Scottsdale Osborne Hospital at 5:59 am. Johnson was also taken to hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Court documents revealed that his blood alcohol level was .331.
Johnson said in a police interview that he was a passenger in the back seat, not the driver. Johnson told police the man fled after the crash.
However, according to court documents, multiple witnesses at the scene said Johnson was the driver and didn’t see anyone else get out of the vehicle.
A police review of Johnson’s records revealed that his driver’s license had been revoked in Illinois and suspended in Arizona.
Johnson was arrested at Scottsdale Hospital by the Arizona Department of Public Safety the next day. He was charged with manslaughter and his two counts of aggravated DUI.
Johnson initially pleaded not guilty but accepted a plea bargain in February. The agreement gave him a prison sentence for manslaughter and dismissed his two other counts.
How Washington’s death affected her loved ones
Washington had three children of her own and many who loved her.
Her three children, her child’s father, two friends, and her brother, submitted letters to the judge prior to sentencing. They wrote about how funny, loving, and caring Washington was. But they also wrote about what would have happened had a different decision been made on October 16, 2021.
“If my mother never met him [Johnson] Or if he hadn’t made the mistakes he made, the outcome would have been different,” said Washington’s son, adding, “Maybe instead of praying that my mother would listen to me, I would actually I could have talked to him,” he said. night. “
This report follows the crimes The Republic began covering in 2021 and is part of our commitment to telling the story from start to finish.
