A Greenwood teen became a new father a few weeks ago. Then a crash took his life
Just a couple weeks ago, 18-year-old Cayden M. S. Johnson, was sitting in a hospital, swaddling his newborn daughter.
The Greenwood teen was “over the moon in love” with his daughter, Ellie, who was born six weeks early, his parents wrote.
But on Saturday, Johnson was driving a vehicle when it crashed into a tree and overturned, killing him, police said.
Landon M. Gregory, 17, of Lee’s Summit, was also killed in the wreck. He was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the high speed crash shortly after 2:30 a.m. at 155th Street and North Madison Street, Kansas City police said at the time.
“Our heartbreak is magnified as Cayden had just welcomed his first child, the most precious little girl, into the world less than one month ago,” Johnson’s parents said in a GoFundMe online fundraiser post. “We are so grateful that a heart monitor allowed Ellie to come home after her NICU stay allowing Cayden to enjoy some priceless memories with his baby girl before he was taken from her far too soon.”
Family is asking for help burying the new father and providing for his daughter’s immediate needs. They plan to put any money left over toward a college fund for Johnson’s child.
“Cayden lived and loved big and always encouraged others to set goals and then work hard to achieve them,” family wrote.
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the online fundraiser had garnered more than $11,500 in donations.
The deaths of Johnson and Gregory mark the third and fourth fatalities from vehicle crashes this year.
Update: The story was updated to reflect that Johnson was driving the vehicle and that Gregory was a passenger at the time of the crash after Gregory’s family contacted The Star with updated information from police.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 6:54 AM.
