Warning: This article may contain some distressing information.
A grieving mom has opened up about her heartbreak after her fiancĂŠ drank 30 beers then got behind the wheel and crashed his truck, tragically killing himself and their infant daughter.
A man drank 30 beers then got behind the wheel and crashed his truck, tragically killing himself and their infant daughter. (Stock image) Credit: Ugurhan Betin / Getty
On March 11, 2020, Janelle Sharbutt Jonesâ partner, Christopher Johnson, was fleeing from cops in his Chevy pickup truck with his 20-month-old daughter, Addison âAddiâ 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 infantâs body was not discovered until a month later.
More than four years after their deaths, Johnsonâs fiancee and the 20-month-oldâs devastated mom is working to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving.
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In an interview with KWCH, Jones explained her partner and daughter âhad a close, tight bondâ and she âdidnât ever think anything could come between thatâ but unfortunately, Johnsonâs addiction took âcontrolâ.
âThereâs a lot of anger, thereâs a lot of grief, I wonder why,â she shared in another interview, per KSN. âAs a mom, I go to Walmart, and I get triggered by the baby section, or a song, or even just seeing other peopleâs little kids because Iâm never going to have the chance to have mine back.â
In the interview, which was published before New Yearâs Eve, Jones used her heartbreaking experience to warn others about the risks of alcohol-impaired driving during the holiday season.
She wants people to âhave that plan to know how youâre going to make it home safelyâ in place before they celebrate as âwhat they consume kind of takes over them: their actions, their thinking, their speakingâ.
âAddi didnât have a choice, but when people go out and celebrate, they get that opportunity to make that right choice to not drink and drive,â she continued. âThis is something that changes your life forever.â
Narciso Narvais, with the Sedgwick County Sheriffâs Office, acknowledged the emotional impact of informing families about DUI fatalities, encouraging individuals to make responsible choices and seek safe transportation.
âI am sure there is any family member, any friend, that would rather give you a ride after youâve been out and had too much to drink than ever have to deal with the fact that maybe we lost a life,â 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 âhopefully keep one person from having to experience something like thisâ.
âI can guarantee you, this isnât something that anybody wants to put anyone through; itâs not something that they might be able to go through themselves,â she added.
Our thoughts continue to be with Jones at this time.