Truck Driver Responsible for a Death and the Destruction of the L’Anse Gas Station Sentenced to 15 Year Maximum

The truck driver responsible for the death of Alan Dantes Jr. and the destruction of the Holiday L’Anse gas station was sentenced in Baraga County 12th Circuit Court yesterday. Dawaun K. Johnson was sentenced in the 12th Circuit Court by Judge Brittany Bulleit after pleading guilty to operating a vehicle resulting in death in March. Johnson was sentenced to a 57-month minimum, and 15-year maximum, behind bars. He was credited with 72 days served.

Johnson was arrested in October 2022 for drunk driving when the semi-truck trailer he was driving plowed through the Holiday Gas Station on US-41 in L’Anse. Alan Dantes Jr was standing near a gas pump at the time of the accident. Another patron and gas station employee inside the service facility escaped from the building after the truck came to a stop. The gas station attendant sustained an injury from the accident. During the investigation, police found an open container of brandy in the cab of the semi-truck trailer. The employee under John’s training reported to police that he had been driving most of the day to gain training hours before Johnson took when the trainee had reached his allotted training hours for the day.

Johnson’s blood alcohol content tested by officers surpassed the legal limit for commercials nearly three times with a BAC of 0.156. The legal BAC limit for commercial truck drivers in Michigan is 0.04. At the time of the incident, Johnson was working for the C.R. England Trucking Company, which owned the vehicle.

Johnson did post bond after the case began to return to his home in Illinois. Returning to the area periodically for court hearings. In March following Johnson’s guilty plea his bond was revoked and he was taken into custody.