HOUGHTON — The Illinois man allegedly behind the wheel for the fatal crash at a Holiday gas station in L’Anse was bound over to Baraga County Circuit Court on three counts after a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Dawaun Johnson, 23, of Highland Park, Illinois, was working for trucking company CR England at the time of the crash. It killed Baraga resident Al Dantes, who was fueling his truck at the time of the crash, while also injuring a Holiday station employee and sparking a fire severely damaging the station.

Two hours after the crash, Johnson had a blood-alcohol level of 0.156 percent, according to a Michigan State Police report.

Johnson faces felony charges of operating while intoxicated – causing death and operating while intoxicated – causing serious injury. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.

He is also charged with having an open alcohol container in a vehicle, a misdemeanor.

Testimony and evidence on the first and third charges had already been introduced at earlier motion hearings. Tuesday’s hearing determined whether there was enough evidence of “serious injury,” namely those suffered by Jessica Webb, who was working at the Holiday station during the crash.

Webb, along with Baraga County Medical Examiner Todd Ingram, testified about Webb’s injuries and other trauma Tuesday.

Webb was behind the clerk’s till crouching down to put money in the box from a customer’s previous transaction.

“I heard somebody say, ‘That truck is out of control,'” she said. “I stood up, and it came through the wall.”

The truck hit her car, then the building. Webb was knocked down and pinned by the cigarette carton cabinet and the safe.

Once she extricated herself, she and one of the regular customers attempted to get out through an emergency door in back, which was jammed.

Webb was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder after the incident.

“I used to love to drive, and now I can’t, because I’m terrified of trucks that come towards me,” she said.

Maroon-colored freightliners are especially triggering, she said.

“I’ll have an anxiety attack,” she said. “I’ll freak out. It’s like I can’t breathe.”

Webb also faced physical injuries, though she has mostly recovered. The cabinet that landed on her put her shoulder out of place. She was unable to lift her 14-month-old niece.

“It was hard to get dressed for a while, brush my hair, be able to do much of anything,” she said.

She has undergone physical therapy, which has reduced her chest, back and hip pain and gotten back much of her range of motion. She started feeling better after about four months, but still has problems with her upper back, she said.

Johnson’s attorney, Keith DeForge, argued that while Webb had been through a traumatic event, her injuries were not enough to constitute a severe impairment. He also pointed to drugs that had shown up in her system during a screening afterward, saying withdrawal symptoms could explain some of her symptoms.

“The legislature’s intent with the statute is very direct — it must be at a significant and severe level to be elevated to a felony,” he said. “And that’s just not here in this case. I think she’s going to get her day in civil court.”

O’Leary pointed to a Michigan Supreme Court case that determined an injury doesn’t need to be permanent to be a serious impairment.

“She did not testify she’s made a full recovery,” he said. “She testified she’s a lot better now. But even if she did, it’s irrelevant, Your Honor. What’s relevant is did these impairments occur after the accident as a result of the accident.”

Unlike the other two counts, the injury charge was a closer call, said 97th District Court Judge Nicholas Daavettila. He focused on two elements of the state statute giving examples of “serious impairment of a bodily function”: Loss or substantial impairment of a bodily function, and measurable brain or mental impairment.

He found basis for both in the testimony of Ingram, who said Webb is suffering from flashbacks, concentration issues, sleep issues, depression, anger and anxiety. He also testified that tests showed Webb had received a moderate score on the depression index, but a severe score for anxiety.

Johnson’s next hearing will be an arraignment in Baraga County Circuit Court.