RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A former Rivera Beach police officer was found guilty Thursday of two counts of vehicular homicide almost three years after a crash claimed two lives.
Carl Rashad Johnson, now 35, was on duty at the time of the wreck on June 18, 2023.
Investigators said Johnson was speeding more than 90 mph in a marked Riviera Beach police cruiser at about 1 a.m. when he slammed into a 2019 Hyundai Genesis G80 at Australian Avenue and West 13th Street in Riviera Beach.
The driver of the Hyundai, Danielle Bell, 43, as well as the passenger, Rodneshia Saunders, 29, died in the wreck.
Johnson was knocked out by the crash and suffered serious injuries.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation, said Johnson was speeding southbound on Australian Avenue at almost three times the speed limit. Investigators said he failed to slow down at a marked railroad crossing, and as he "traveled over the tracks, the vehicle violently jarred up and down."
The Hyundai was traveling northbound on Australian Avenue, and as it made a left turn onto West 13th Street, Johnson "violently" slammed into the vehicle's right side, causing the Genesis to hit a light pole and flip over, the arrest report stated.
In-car video from Johnson's department-issued 2022 Dodge Charger showed the "high speeds" driven by the officer, the report said.
Johnson did not have his emergency lights and sirens activated, and the vehicle's data recorder showed he was driving 94 mph just five seconds before the crash.
He was arrested a few months after the wreck and was later fired from the police department.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7 at 1:30 p.m.
