Collierville, Tennessee: Arlington Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide After Highway 385 Crash Kills One

An Arlington man is facing vehicular homicide and driving under the influence charges after a four vehicle crash on Highway 385 in Collierville on Wednesday evening killed one person, police said.

Officers responded to the crash around 5:12 p.m. on Wednesday on Highway 385 near the Progress Road overpass, according to the Collierville Police Department. Four vehicles were involved in the collision. One person died, and the person killed had not been publicly identified in the reports published on Thursday.

Police identified the driver facing charges as Derek Kyle Johnson, 37, of Arlington. Johnson was treated at a local hospital before he was released into police custody, FOX13 Memphis reported. He is in the custody of the Collierville Police Department on a $250,000 bond.

Six charges filed

Police listed six charges against Johnson: vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, an open container violation and a seat belt violation. Action News 5, FOX13 Memphis and WREG all carried the same list of charges on Thursday. The charges are allegations, and they have not been tested in court.

One person was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, according to the NewsTalk 98.9 report of the police release. Beyond that, police have not released a full account of how the four vehicles came together, and the reports published on Thursday do not say which vehicle the person who died was traveling in.

Investigation still open

Assistant Chief David Townsend of the Collierville Police Department addressed the crash in the department press release. "The investigation remains ongoing, and no further information can be released at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and loved ones during this difficult time," Townsend said.

Collierville sits east of Memphis in Shelby County, and Highway 385 is one of the main highway routes through the town, carrying commuter traffic between Collierville and the Memphis area. A fatal crash near the Progress Road overpass in the early evening put police and emergency crews on one of those routes at the end of the workday.

What police have released so far is the outline of the case: the time and place of the crash, the four vehicles involved, the death, the name of the driver charged, the six charges and the bond. The rest, including how the collision happened and the name of the person who died, is still with investigators. Anyone who saw the crash on Highway 385 on Wednesday evening is part of the picture police are still putting together, and the department says no further information can be released while the investigation continues.