Nightmarish and avoidable tragedy after dad drank 30 beers then got in car with little girl

An adorable two-year-old girl died a preventable death after her father drank 30 beers, got behind the wheel and crashed his truck.

Christopher Johnson, 44, was fleeing police in his Chevy pickup with his 20-month-old daughter, Addison “Addi” Jo, when he killed his little girl and himself by driving off an embankment into a river in March 2020.

Addi’s body was not found until a month later, trapped in a beaver dam.

More than four years after their deaths, Johnson’s fiancée and Addison’s heartbroken mother, Janelle Sharbutt Johnson, are working to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving — especially on the festive holiday of New Year’s Day.

“Addison and her father went into the river because of bad choices made by alcoholism,” Janelle previously said KWCH 12 News.

She still struggles with the loss of her daughter and wonders why Johnson would get behind the wheel with their child when he was three times over the legal limit.

‘There is a lot of anger, there is a lot of sadness. I wonder why,” she said KSNW this week.

Today, she is an advocate and speaks on the panel of the DUI Victims Center of Kansas. “I’m speaking because I want to hopefully prevent one person from experiencing something like this,” she said in part.

On New Year’s Eve, she posted a photo of her daughter with angel wings. “Please don’t drink or drive,” she wrote.

‘If anyone needs a ride, please call me! Think of Addi and remember!

Janelle Johnson imagined herself overcome with grief after learning her daughter had been murdered

Johnson had just picked up his daughter from daycare because she wasn’t feeling well and had reassured his wife that she would “be fine.”

But after a friend saw Johnson at a store buying alcohol, Janelle called Butler County Sheriff’s authorities to conduct a welfare check.

Police found Johnson in a field near Little Walnut River with his daughter on his lap. There was no car seat in the truck and they discovered he had been drinking.

When they tried to take his child from him, he refused and drove away.

During the chase, Johnson’s truck crossed the field, drove off the embankment and crashed into the river as the truck landed upside down.

A drunken Johnson, with his little girl on his lap, drove his truck into the Walnut River while fleeing from police

He drove his pickup truck off a ten-meter high embankment that landed on its roof into the river, killing him and his two-year-old daughter.

It took emergency services 90 minutes to reach the deceased Johnson, who was found trapped in the vehicle with the rear window smashed.

Police believed Addison went outside and threw him through the window.

Her body was not found until April, a month after the devastating tragedy. Addi’s remains were found in a beaver dam.

Police suspect alcohol played a role in the tragic accident.

Baby Addison was loved by family and friends who are still devastated by her death in 2020

Janelle Sharbutt Jones is working to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving

Jones posted a beautiful photo of her daughter Addison Joe, smiling with angel wings

Johnson is keeping her daughter’s memory alive by sharing her story and has declared March 11 as ‘Addi’s Day’.

The bridge at Little Walnut River in Leon, south of El Dorado, where the accident occurred, serves as a memorial with pink balloons, ribbons and teddy bears.

As people pass by, they honk in remembrance, Jones said.

Johnson, the father of five children from his first marriage, worked as a mechanic and electrician.

Family members remember Baby Addison Jo as “the sweetest little girl who always leaves a smile on your face.”