The man accused of killing a Clearwater crossing guard in a 2014 traffic crash and then leaving the scene has taken a plea deal.
- Plea agreement reached in 2014 Clearwater crash that killed crossing guard
- Julius Ramone Johnson, 31, enters into a plea agreement
- Doug Carey, 70, was a retired Clearwater police officer
- PREVIOUS STORY on this case
Julius Ramone Johnson, 31, appeared before a Pinellas County judge in the death of crossing guard Doug Carey, who was a retired Clearwater police officer.
Johnson will serve an 18-year sentence. He pleaded guilty to a number of charges including vehicular homicide.
Police said Johnson was speeding in a black Cadillac west on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard on May 20, 2014 when he ran a red light at Belcher Road and collided with an oncoming Honda.
The Cadillac left the road and struck Carey, 70, who was working as a crossing guard. Carey died at the scene of the crash.
Police said Johnson was with his young daughters, ages 2 and 4, at the time of the crash.
He got out of the car and handed his younger daughter to a stranger, saying "please take care of my child." The older girl was ejected from the Cadillac and suffered several fractures and a head injury.
Johnson was captured a short distance away. He told detectives he was fleeing because he was driving with a suspended license.
Johnson was out on a $360,000 bond until October 2016 when he was arrested for cocaine trafficking.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Johnson was stopped in St. Petersburg after a brief pursuit and foot chase. Investigators said that Johnson admitted that he fled from law enforcement officers because he did not have a valid driver’s license. Investigators also located 33 grams of crack cocaine inside his car.
Johnson was arrested and charged with fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, driving while license suspended or revoked (felony habitual), and trafficking in cocaine.
He has remained in the Pinellas County Jail since that arrest.