Bryan Dean Johnson 1968-1985

JOHNSON

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 12/20/2012 at 23:37:51

Accident Claims Three Lives
Arnolds Park – A three-car accident Saturday evening near Arnolds Park claimed the lives of three Estherville youths and critically injured a fourth Estherville resident.

Killed in the crash were 17 year-old Jerry Thompson Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Thompson; 16 year-old James West, son of the Rev. and Mrs. Ed West and 16 year-old Steven Roberts, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Roberts of McAllen, Texas.

Bryan Johnson, 16, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Johnson, was taken to the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital and later transferred by the Mayo Air Medical Transport Service to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn. May Clinic officials listed Johnson in critical condition following surgery Sunday afternoon for head injuries.

According to a release from the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred at 10:40 p.m. five and one-half miles east of Arnold Park, or one mile south and one and one-half miles eat of the Dickinson County Landfill on Dickinson County Road A-31.

The report states that a 1977 car driven by Thompson was eastbound on Dickinson County Road A-31, following a 1973 car driven by Johnson. A third vehicle, a 1971 car driven by Julie Drevs, 18, also of Estherville, was westbound on the same road.

According to the report, the Thompson car attempted to pass the Johnson car and sideswiped the Drevs car. After sideswiping the Drevs vehicle, the Thompson auto struck the Johnson car, went into the ditch, over a driveway and sheared off a tee, coming to rest against another tree.

Following the impact, the Johnson car went into the ditch and over a driveway, striking a tree and coming to rest approximately 10 feet from a farmhouse. The Drevs vehicle went into the ditch following the sideswipe with the Thompson vehicle, according to the report.

Thompson, West and Roberts were dead on arrival at the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital. Drevs was treated and released for minor injuries at the hospital. Both the 1977 car driven by Thompson and the 1973 car driven by Johnson were termed total losses by investigating officers, while the 1971 auto driven by Drevs received severe damages to the left side.

The accident was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol and Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office. The Milford Fire Department Rescue unit was called to assist at the accident scene. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, January 14,1985)

Youth Remains Critical
Rochester, Minn. – Bryan Johnson, the 16 year-old youth injured in the three vehicle accident Saturday night, remains in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon, according to Mayo Clinic officials.

Johnson was injured in the same accident that claimed the lives of Steven Roberts, Jerry Thompson and James West late Saturday night, five and one-half miles east of Arnolds Park. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, January 15, 1985)

Accident claims the life of Johnson; fourth youth
Sixteen-year-old Bryan Johnson, of Estherville, became the fourth traffic fatality in Dickinson County when he died Sunday evening, Jan. 20 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

Johnson, the son of Mr. and Mrs. George Johnson, was critically injured in a three-car accident Saturday evening, Jan. 12 near Arnolds Park.

Three other Estherville youths, 17-year-old Jerry Thompson, Jr., 16-year-old James West and 16-year-old Steven Roberts were dead on arrival at the Dickinson County Memorial Hospital, in Spirit Lake, following the accident.

Misinformation concerning the blood alcohol level of the four youths had been circulated by at least one media last week according to Dickinson County Attorney John Sandy.

John Sandy, sad Monday, Jan. 21, that Bryan Johnson’s blood alcohol level had been far below intoxication level of .10 or ten hundreths of one percent by weight of alcohol in the blood.

Sandy refused comment, however, on the blood alcohol levels of the other three youths. (Mlford Mail and Terril Record, Milford, IA, January 24, 1985)