Red Lake man to serve more than 5 years for drunken-driving manslaughter

A Red Lake man has been sentenced to over five years (64 months) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for a drunken-driving crash that left one person dead.

Earlier this year, Gerald Wayne Johnson, 27, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in federal court.

According to court documents, on Nov. 6, 2021, Johnson was driving his car while drunk with a passenger in the front seat. Johnson was driving over 90 mph in a 20 mph zone on a public road in the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

While going around a curve, Johnson jumped the curb and crashed his vehicle into a tree, severely damaging the entire right side of the vehicle. The passenger was ejected from the car and died from her injuries.

Investigators found multiple bottles of alcohol both inside and outside of Johnson’s totaled vehicle. Court records state that Johnson’s blood alcohol content was .224 after the crash.

This case was investigated by the Red Lake Police Department, FBI and Minnesota State Patrol.