A 41-year-old man accused of smoking PCP and crashing into a viaduct a high speed after announcing he was going to his three passengers “to heaven together” has been released on electronic monitoring.
Prosecutors say Johnnie Harris picked up his longtime friends on May 1, 2024, and smoked PCP with one of them before they all got back into his Chevy Tahoe to go to a gas station. As he drove the group away from the station, Harris began recalling his late mother’s birthday and repeatedly stated, “let’s go to heaven together,” according to Assistant State’s Attorney John Kyle.
A Chicago police incident report said a witness recalled Harris saying, “Today is my Momma’s birthday and I’m going to kill us all,” before he began speeding through red lights, driving erratically, and crashing into a viaduct.
Kyle said Harris sped down Western Avenue while his passengers screamed for him to stop. One passenger tried to grab his arm; another kicked at the gas pedal and attempted to apply the brake. But Harris kept driving, reaching 100 mph, striking several objects, and ultimately slamming broadside into a support column in the 3600 block of South Western Avenue, Kyle said.
The front-seat passenger tried to keep Harris from fleeing by grabbing his shirt, but Harris allegedly stripped out of his shirt and pants and bolted from the wreckage. Another passenger suffered injuries that required multiple surgeries and the eventual amputation of his lower leg, Kyle said.
Judge Ankur Srivastava concluded that prosecutors proved there was strong evidence Harris committed the crime, but said they failed to show he poses a “real and present threat” more than a year after the crash. The judge cited Harris’s lack of criminal convictions, his commitment to taking mental health medication, and his clean record since the incident.
Instead of jail, Srivastava placed Harris on electronic monitoring with permission to leave his home three days a week to run essential errands. The judge also barred Harris from driving.
Assistant Public Defender Manpreet Chauhan told Srivastava that Harris “maintains his innocence, denies all allegations.” He is charged with attempted first-degree murder.
Sourcing: This report is based on official court transcripts of Harris’ detention hearing, purchased through the generosity of CWBChicago readers like you.
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