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Bar patrons discuss events leading up to deadly crash

Johnston drank 5 beers before crash that killed baliff, injured husband

Kim Johnston is accused of causing the accident that killed Officer Cathy Adams and critically injured Officer Jack Adams.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Discovery material released from the State Attorney's Office is shedding new light on what accused drunken driver Kim Johnston did before getting behind the wheel and allegedly getting into a deadly crash on I-95 that killed a Jacksonville bailiff and critically injured her police officer husband.

Cathy Adams died hours after the crash on Dec.9, 2018. Her husband, Jack Adams, suffered critical injuries and had to undergo months of rehabilitation to learn to walk again. The couple's children were also in the car but weren't injured in the crash.  

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Johnston was allegedly driving the car that hit them. She was arrested after failing a sobriety test. Officers said her blood alcohol level was well over the legal limit.

Bar patrons report seeing Johnston drinking at Miller's  Ale House with a friend before getting in the deadly accident.

Witnesses say Johnston was speeding and swerving before she crashed into the Adams' vehicle, sending their car into the air.

The bartender at Miller's Ale House said Johnston had five beers before she left that night.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Johnston refused to take a Breathalyzer test after the crash and asked for an attorney right away.

When she was taken to Flagler Hospital, troopers said she told medical personnel she drank only two beers that evening.

Johnston had her blood drawn at the hospital the following morning and it was still above the legal limit, according to investigators.

A witness told Florida Highway Patrol she saw Johnston driving over 90 mph before crashing into the Adams' car.

Troopers said when they got to Johnston at the scene, she was leaning against the guardrail. They say when they asked for her ID, she fumbled through her purse and couldn't find it. 


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