Nearly four years after a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy was killed in a crash while responding to a domestic violence call in Deerfield Beach, the trial for the driver allegedly responsible was underway.
Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of Darran Joseph Johnson, who's charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and other charges in the July 2019 crash that killed Deputy Benjamin "Benji" Nimtz.
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Nimtz was 30 years old at the time and left behind a wife and two children. He was days away from starting a new job in Indiana with less than a week left on the job at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office when he was hit and killed.
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Officials said Nimtz was responding to the domestic violence call when the crash happened in the area of Southwest 10th Street and Military Trail.
Johnson, now 36, shouldn't have been behind the wheel at the time of the crash because his license was suspended, officials said.
In court Tuesday, defense attorneys argued the crash was caused by Nimtz, and said the blood test that led to the DUI charges was not accurate and Johnson was suffering from a concussion.
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“If an officer is responding to any kind of call and needs to run a red light, isn’t it true that that officer needs to slow down and make sure it’s safe for him to proceed through the intersection?” a defense attorney said.
Fellow BSO deputies took the stand and testified about the night of the crash, some becoming emotional as they spoke.
“Couple of us reached inside, tried to get his attention ... felt he had no pulse," Deputy Sheriff Christopher Gonzalez said.
