Man once convicted of murder found guilty of wrong-way DUI crash on Hwy. 101
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ryan Johnson convicted of DUI causing injury after 2022 prison release.
- Crash on Highway 101 involved meth use, wrong-way driving and hit-and-run.
- With four prior strikes, Johnson now faces 31 years to life in prison.
A San Luis Obispo County man, who was previously convicted of murder in 2011, was convicted of driving under the influence causing great bodily injury on Wednesday.
A jury convicted Ryan James Johnson, 48, of driving while under the influence of drugs causing great bodily injury, reckless driving causing great bodily injury, hit-and-run causing great bodily injury and property damage and driving on a suspended license, court documents show.
His previous convictions, which stem from an armed residential burglary gone wrong in Los Osos in 2009, qualified as four strikes under the California Three Strikes law, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office.
Court records show Johnson also had several drug and alcohol-related crimes and petty theft convictions, including drunk driving, from 1998 to 2008.
With the strikes increasing his sentence, Johnson faces more than 30 years to life in state prison.
Defendant escaped hospital after arrest, fled on foot
According to the news release, Johnson was driving southbound on Highway 101 through San Luis Obispo on Dec. 27, 2023, when he abruptly turned his car around near the Marsh Street exit and began driving northbound against traffic.
Johnson drove in the emergency lane at more than 70 miles per hour in heavy traffic, the release said. He slammed head-on into a motorist when he reached the Broad St. exit, the release said, which caused his vehicle to go airborne and strike another vehicle.
The victim of the head-on collision suffered serious injuries while the second vehicle was badly damaged, the release said. Johnson left his vehicle, discarded two methamphetamine smoking pipes from his pockets and attempted to flee the scene.
Bystanders identified Johnson for California Highway Patrol officers, who then detained him, the release said.
A DUI investigation and forensic blood draw found Johnson was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana, the release said. He was arrested and taken to the hospital for medical clearance before he was booked into jail.
While at the hospital, the release said, Johnson left the hospital on foot once officers were not in his immediate presence. California Highway Patrol officers arrested Johnson again at his home the following day.
His sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 3. He faces 31 years and four months to life in prison.
Murder charge vacated after change in California law
Johnson had been released from prison for about a year and half before he crashed driving the wrong way on Highway 101, court records show.
A jury convicted Johnson of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, first-degree residential burglary, being a principal in a crime involving being armed with a firearm, and first-degree residential robbery with the enhancement of using a firearm in 2011.
According to previous Tribune reporting, Johnson was found guilty of planning a robbery that had gone bad, which was carried out by Kelsey Alvarez and Jesse Baker-Riley in 2009.
Baker-Riley and Alvarez went to the home of Peter Davis and demanded money and marijuana at gunpoint. Davis, fearing for his life, then grabbed a gun and fired shots at Baker-Riley — one of which struck and killed Alvarez.
Court documents show that while Baker-Riley and Alvarez were committing the burglary, Johnson “boasted” that he was “running things” while he was at another person’s house and said his “homies were basically doing a home invasion” with a gun.
Changes to the felony murder law in California eventually led to Johnson’s murder and principal in a crime involving a firearm convictions to be vacated in 2022. The law now requires defendants to be an active participant, meaning they were physically at the scene of the crime violating the law, to be found guilty of felony murder.
Johnson was resentenced and released from state prison in June 2022, court records show.
Baker-Riley, who was also found guilty of murder and related burglary crimes in 2011, filed a petition to be re-sentenced in 2023. His next hearing on the matter was scheduled for October.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
