THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508310421
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
Burned and hysterical, the woman whose children died in a car fire last year left the scene with her boyfriend while others tried to rescue the two sisters, according to testimony Wednesday in Pasquotank County Superior Court.
Two policeman said they found Jeannette Collier Johnson, 33, a few blocks away, at her parents' home on Country Club Drive, badly burned and screaming after watching her daughters perish in the burning car.
Johnson and her boyfriend, Juan ``John'' Estaban, 37, were not inside Johnson's 1984 Chrysler New Yorker when it was struck from behind by a 1994 Ford Mustang driven by William E. Smith, 21, of South Mills.
Johnson had apparently stopped the car on a dark stretch of the five-laned U.S. 17 in front of the Pine Lakes Country Club around 1:20 a.m. May 15, 1994.
Several people testified that they saw Johnson and Estaban walk briskly toward a residential area behind the country club after others began to arrive at the scene after the crash.
Within several minutes, police had located the couple at the home of Harry Collier, Johnson's father.
"She was very visibly upset. Just out of control," said Elizabeth City Police Department Sgt. John D. Young. "She kept screaming, `Where are my babies? How are my babies?' "
Johnson suffered burns to her face, arms, hands and legs during her own, earlier rescue attempt and later was sent to Norfolk Sentara General's Burn Trauma Unit. Estaban was not injured, police said.Johnson is charged with involuntary manslaughter and related charges of operating a motor vehicle while impaired and illegally parking her car on a paved highway.
Wednesday's proceedings began to shed light on how Johnson came to be held criminally accountable for the deaths of Erika Morgan Johnson, 6, and her 9-year-old sister, Saralisa Danielle.
James "Bubba" Pauley, who lives next to the country club, told jurors about being awakened three times on the night of the car crash.
The first time, Pauley said, he heard tires screeching to a halt. He started to doze off again when his wife woke him to say she heard people talking near their yard.
Then, shortly after that, Pauley was shaken awake by the sound of Smith's Mustang slamming into the rear of the New Yorker. "I thought somebody had run into the house next door to us. That's how loud it was," he said.
Pauley, barefoot and wearing only boxer shorts, ran outside to the blazing car but was turned back by the hot asphalt surrounding the blaze.
"I noticed a man standing near one of the cars yelling `Oh my God, Sara! Oh my God, Sara!' " Pauley said.
He then testified that he also heard Johnson shout to Estaban, "John, are you happy now? Are you happy now?"
Smith testified Tuesday that he did not see the car until after the impact. He also tried to save the two girls, one of whom was still alive and struggling as the flames engulfed her.
The jury on Wednesday also watched portions of a police videotape taken at the crash scene. The two-minute tape showed the extent of damage and positions of the two vehicles after the impact.
Footage cut from the original, 45-minute tape included shots of the New Yorker's gutted interior, with graphic scenes of the charred remains of both girls.
Johnson stared away from the television each time the video was shown and occasionally broke down in tears. Her parents and ex-husband, Mark Johnson, left the courtroom when the video was aired.
The trial continues today.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITIES FIRE TRIAL by CNB