KENNETT, Mo. – Judge Joe Satterfield sentenced Benny Lynn Johnson, 59, of Milan, Tennessee to the maximum sentence available by law for causing the drunk driving crash that killed three people and then left the scene. Johnson was sentenced to 38 years in the Department of Corrections and a fine of $40,000. He had been found guilty of three counts of driving while intoxicated causing a death and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident after a three-day jury trial in October and faced 3 to 38 years in prison.
Dunklin County Prosecutor Nicholas Jain asked Stoddard County Judge Satterfield to impose the maximum sentence for causing the crash which killed Tiffini Santana, 32, Phoenix Santana, 10, and Jackson Venneman, 2. Johnson crashed into the family as they were standing on the side of the road after their car had a flat tire on Route MM near the Dunklin and Stoddard County line. Johnson was driving more than 80 miles an hour according to data from his vehicle’s airbag module. He then left the scene before later failing to negotiate a curve and becoming stuck in a field. Laboratory analysis revealed his blood alcohol content to be in excess of the legal limit hours after the crash. At the time of the crash, the Highway Patrol Crime Lab estimated his blood alcohol content to be two and a half to four times the legal limit of .08 percent. Johnson had previously been found guilty of driving while intoxicated for a case that occurred in 2015 in Malden, Missouri.
Jain thanks the first responders for their professional work at a gruesome and terrible scene and the jury for thoughtfully considering the case, especially with the difficult to view evidence presented.
Jain thanks Judge Satterfield for imposing the maximum sentence on each count and ordering all counts to be served consecutively to provide justice for the victims in this case. Jain said, “This sends a clear message when someone kills another while driving drunk there will be severe consequences, especially for a prior offender.” In announcing sentence, Judge Satterfield said, “This was a horrendous crime and the defendant did not show any remorse during or after the trial.”