A Washington state woman with a following for her police scanner tweets unknowingly live-tweeted her husband's fatal car crash on Wednesday.
Under the handle @ScanCouver, Caran Johnson frequently live-tweets action from the state police scanner. She was posting updates about a crash on Interstate 205 southbound in Vancouver Wednesday afternoon, the New York Daily News reported via KATU.com.
The mother of two, whose Twitter bio reads "Tweeting the crazy things that happen in the 'Couve," noted the difficult driving on that part of the interstate, saying she "hates that section" of the highway.
"Too many on ramps, speeders and too few lanes," she tweeted.
She then retweeted an update from a local newspaper saying that someone had died in the crash.
Johnson realized after several more tweets that her husband would have used the same interstate to get home from work.
"I'm trying not to panic....he's not answering his phone," she tweeted. "And he's late."
Craig R. Johnson, 47, died at the scene after the Hyundai Elantra he was driving slid across a grassy median and hit a Toyota, according to The Columbian.
Before hearing the news, his wife said in tweets that he had left work early after "he felt faint," and she was concerned that his epilepsy condition may have resulted in a seizure.
The crash is still under investigation.
Caran Johnson was earlier interviewed by The Associated Press about her scanner hobby.
"I just have some kind of fascination of listening in to the secret world of the scanner that not everyone gets to hear," the Salmon Creek resident told the AP.
While she and fellow scanner buff Jason Williard don't tweet nonstop or at all hours, they like staying in the know and relaying information to others.
"It becomes me contributing to the news just by listening," Williard said.
Some of Johnson's Twitter followers have started a fundraising effort for her family with the goal of $10,000.
"As a widow myself, I know all too well how much she is going through right now, and while money won't bring her husband back, it can help ease the strain of a funeral, burial and associated costs, as well as replace some of his wages that are now gone in the weeks before Christmas. It's my way of giving back and a way that her Tweeps can show their support," said fund organizer Marissa.
The page was at $2,702 with 11 days left as of Thursday morning. Johnson's tweets were also changed to "protected" around 10 a.m. Thursday.
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