Shanna Burns

A mother and her two young children died on their way to a birthday party when a vehicle fleeing police struck their SUV in Granite City, authorities said. Family members identified the victims as Shanna Burns, 22; Sebastian Bartlett, 7; and Bailey Humphreys, 2. The driver, Kevin Duane Johnson, was speeding and driving erratically before the crash, according to charges filed Monday afternoon. Johnson, of Wood River, was being treated at a hospital. Johnson, 64, was charged by the Madison County state's attorney with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of reckless homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing. The children's great-grandmother, Marilyn Humphreys, said she is devastated. "They're my world," she said. "This is very hard." Before the crash, police from two agencies had tried to get the speeding driver in a black Chevrolet pickup to stop. About 3 p.m. Saturday near Effingham in Marion County, Illinois, call logs say the vehicle was doing U-turns in the roadway. Then, the pickup was going more than 100 mph when he outran an Illinois State Police trooper on northbound Interstate 57 near milepost 133, according to court documents. The trooper abandoned the chase. About an hour later, dispatchers in Madison County said a caller reported seeing a man in a black Chevrolet pickup "driving all over the roadway" in the area of Highway 111 and Pontoon Road. The pickup hit a do-not-enter sign in the median at Kaseberg Lane and Highway 111 and continued west on Pontoon Road. Then, at 4:19 p.m. Saturday, the same pickup raced past a Granite City officer at Pontoon and Maryville roads. The officer tried to pull it over, but it drove off, ran a stop sign about a half-mile away and collided with the family's Dodge Durango, at Pontoon Road and Wabash Avenue, according to police and charging documents. Johnson has a lengthy history of traffic violations and was driving with a revoked driver's license, Madison County assistant state's attorney Morgan Hudson said in court files. The officer following the speeding vehicle was uninjured. Granite City asked the Illinois State Police to handle the investigation because the crash involved a police chase. The State Police turned the findings over to prosecutors. "Everyone is calling it a pursuit," said Granite City police Chief Gary Brooks. "The officer was trying to stop this vehicle. It was more of an attempted traffic stop of a reckless driver." Brooks, who has been an officer for more than 20 years, said the crash was "one of the most tragic events I've ever seen. "A young family lost their lives, over what?" Brooks said. "Something that doesn't seem worth it." Brooks estimated that at least 100 people showed up for a vigil Sunday evening at the scene of the crash, at Pontoon and Wabash, after police closed the roads for the gathering. "Granite City, we get a bad rap sometimes, but whenever something terrible happens, we definitely come out and support victims of tragic events," Brooks said. In an interview Monday, Marilyn Humphreys said her grandson, Cody Humphreys, is father to Bailey and Sebastian. Cody Humphreys and Burns planned to marry next April, she said. Sebastian was Cody's son from a previous relationship, but the boy considered Burns his mother and called her “Mom,” Marilyn Humphreys said. Earlier Saturday, Cody Humphreys and Burns had gone to get tattoos from a friend. Burns got a ghost on her arm, Marilyn Humphreys said. Cody Humphreys was with other relatives while Burns drove her two children home to get ready to attend a child's birthday party, she said. "Cody's getting by, day by day. He's got a lot to get through," his grandmother said. Burns worked at Jimmy John's. Sebastian was a second-grader at Prather Elementary School. He liked playing video games, said Marilyn Humphreys, and Bailey played with "any kind of toy but mostly did whatever her bubba (brother) did."