FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A Fort Wayne woman who admitted ramming her car into another car, leaving a man so badly injured one of his legs was later amputated, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Brandee Johnson, 29, was sentenced Monday in Allen County after pleading guilty March 1 to leaving the scene of the September 2020 crash at a Speedway convenience store.
Johnson told officers she went to the store with her 1-year-old daughter intending to get gas, drinks and snacks. But Johnson said she got an “eerie feeling” after noticing three men near the store’s entrance, and believed they were pointing at her and laughing, according to court documents.
Johnson said the men made derogatory remarks, including a racial slur, and those words “threw her off,” The Journal Gazette reported.
Authorities said Johnson’s driver’s license was suspended when she parked alongside a gas pump and waited in her car for about 10 minutes. Witnesses told police she floored the vehicle and aimed the car at the three men, who were standing behind another vehicle, court records state.
The impact pinned one of the men between the two vehicles, nearly severing his right leg, which was amputated at a hospital.
After the collision, Johnson left her car, glanced at the injured man and fled on a foot, leaving her young daughter behind, according to court documents.
Under her plea agreement, prosecutors dropped aggravated battery, neglect and other charges.