The driver of a Michigan firetruck that crashed Saturday on Interstate 35W in Blaine, killing two firefighters, said he was sleep-deprived and that he nodded off before the rig went out of control. He also admitted using marijuana and cocaine in the days and hours before the wreck, according to charges filed Monday.
Micheal Allen Johnson, 28, of Baraga, Mich., was charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in Anoka County District Court. He remains jailed ahead of a court appearance Tuesday.
Johnson was among nine firefighters from the Upper Peninsula community en route to help fight the Box Canyon wildfire in Utah when the truck "struck the median cable barriers, and rolled" at 3:08 p.m. Saturday, according to a State Patrol statement.
Alan Swartz, 25, and James Shelifoe, 23, also of Baraga, were killed. The others on the truck survived their injuries. Two other vehicles that were part of the contingent and traveling immediately in front of Johnson's firetruck were not involved in the wreck.