A Farmerville, Louisiana, man was arrested Tuesday for several traffic violations following an accident in which he reportedly struck another vehicle and fled the scene.
Brandon D. Johnson, 27, faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, no driver’s license and no auto insurance.
Officers responded at 8:30 p.m. to a report of a two-vehicle accident in the 1900 block of Junction City Road.
Emergency medical technicians from the El Dorado Fire Department who were on the scene told officers that two people had fled from one of the vehicles that was involved in the accident.
A witness told police that one of the people had run behind Econo Lodge, 1920 Junction City Road, and appeared to be carrying an assault rifle.
Police said they saw a man, later identified as Johnson, walking toward them in the rear parking lot of the motel, noting that his right forearm was bleeding heavily.
Witnesses positively identified Johnson as one of the people who had run from the vehicle, a gray, 2020 Nissan Sentra, that was involved in the accident.
While searching the area with help from a witness, police found an AR-15 assault rifle, an ashtray, mask, liquor bottle and a safety helmet/hard hat bearing Johnson’s name.
Police noted the items were covered in blood.
Johnson told officers he had been drinking and that his vehicle had been stolen.
He said he sustained the injury to his arm by “punching a fence”. Police said they believe Johnson injured his arm when the airbags in the Nissan deployed.
A police report did not indicate if officers gathered information or evidence corroborating if Johnson’s vehicle had been stolen.
Rogelio G. Romero, 37, of Demopolis, Alabama, told officers that he was turning into the parking lot of Rainbow Food Mart, 2110 Junction City Road, when the Nissan Sentra struck the rear passenger side of his vehicle, a white, 2017 Chevrolet 2500 pickup truck.
Romero said the pickup spun around and came to rest in the parking lot of Econo Lodge, which is adjacent to Rainbow.
Surveillance video from Rainbow showed the Nissan Sentra speeding through the area and striking the Chevrolet pickup truck, as Romero described.
Police reported functional damage to the rear passenger side of Romero’s pickup. They said Johnson’s vehicle was totaled and was towed from the scene.
No serious injuries were reported.
Johnson was released on a citation to appear June 14 in 35th Judicial District Court.
A second suspect was not located.