Trucker responsible for death and destruction of L'Anse gas station sentenced to maximum 15 years

The truck driver responsible for the death of Alan Dantes Jr. and the destruction of the Holiday L'Anse gas station was sentenced yesterday in Baraga County's 12th Circuit Court. Duwaun K. Johnson was sentenced by Judge Brittany Bulliet in 12th Circuit Court after pleading guilty to operating a vehicle resulting in death in March. Johnson was sentenced to a minimum of 57 months and a maximum of 15 years behind bars. He was credited with 72 days of service.

Johnson was arrested in October 2022 for drunken driving when the semi he was driving drove 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 customer and gas station employee inside the service facility escaped the building after the truck stopped. The gas station attendant was injured in the accident. During the investigation, police found an open container of cognac in the cabin of the tractor-trailer. The employee taking John's training reported to police that he had driven most of the day to earn training hours before Johnson took it when the trainee had reached his allotted training hours for the day.

Johnson's blood alcohol level tested by officers exceeded the legal limit for commercials nearly three times with a blood alcohol level of 0.156. The legal blood alcohol limit for commercial truck drivers in Michigan is 0.04. At the time of the incident, Johnson worked for CR England Trucking Company, which owned the vehicle.

Johnson posted bond after the case began coming back to his home in Illinois. Periodic return to site for court hearings. In March, after Johnson's guilty plea, his bond was revoked and he was taken into custody.