Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
A grieving mom has opened up about her heartbreak after her fiancé drank 30 beers then got behind the wheel and crashed his truck, tragically killing himself and their infant daughter.
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On March 11, 2020, Janelle Sharbutt Jones’ partner, Christopher Johnson, was fleeing from cops in his Chevy pickup truck with his 20-month-old daughter, Addison ‘Addi’ Jo, Daily Mail reported.
The chase ended in tragedy as both the 44-year-old and his daughter died after he drove off an embankment and into Little Walnut River in the Flint Hills region of Kansas. The infant’s body was not discovered until a month later.
More than four years after their deaths, Johnson’s fiancee and the 20-month-old’s devastated mom is working to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
Watch below:
In an interview with KWCH, Jones explained her partner and daughter “had a close, tight bond” and she “didn’t ever think anything could come between that” but unfortunately, Johnson’s addiction took “control”.
“There’s a lot of anger, there’s a lot of grief, I wonder why,” she shared in another interview, per KSN. “As a mom, I go to Walmart, and I get triggered by the baby section, or a song, or even just seeing other people’s little kids because I’m never going to have the chance to have mine back.”
In the interview, which was published before New Year’s Eve, Jones used her heartbreaking experience to warn others about the risks of alcohol-impaired driving during the holiday season.
She wants people to “have that plan to know how you’re going to make it home safely” in place before they celebrate as “what they consume kind of takes over them: their actions, their thinking, their speaking”.
“Addi didn’t have a choice, but when people go out and celebrate, they get that opportunity to make that right choice to not drink and drive,” she continued. “This is something that changes your life forever.”
Narciso Narvais, with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, acknowledged the emotional impact of informing families about DUI fatalities, encouraging individuals to make responsible choices and seek safe transportation.
“I am sure there is any family member, any friend, that would rather give you a ride after you’ve been out and had too much to drink than ever have to deal with the fact that maybe we lost a life,” Narvais said, cited by KSN.
Jones, who now works with the DUI Victims Center of Kansas, emphasized that she was sending a message because she wants to “hopefully keep one person from having to experience something like this”.
“I can guarantee you, this isn’t something that anybody wants to put anyone through; it’s not something that they might be able to go through themselves,” she added.
Our thoughts continue to be with Jones at this time.