Benton children, killed in a car accident in Texas on their way to see their father, who had been wounded in Iraq. The mother survived and another child is in critical condition.
Liberty and justice for all- that's the tune army specialist John Austin Johnson and his son Tyler marched into during a school play in February when Johnson was once on leave from Iraq in Benton.
"Tyler and his dad carried in a flag together when we were doing the pledge of allegiance. They stood on stage and his dad was in his uniform and they waved the flag around together," Kristen Jackson, the music teacher at CaldwellElementary School said.
But what they didn't know then is how much that moment would mean now. Johnson suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq from an explosive device and was flown to a Texas hospital. On his family's way to visit him, his wife, Lisa, and three children were in a car accident.
His wife survived, but 5 year old Ashley and 2 year old Logan were killed, as 9 year old Tyler is in critical condition.
"I can't imagine you're thinking you're back in the states and you're going to survive and your family is traveling to see you and then something that horrible happens. I can't imagine," Jill Byrd, Tyler’s 3rd grade teacher at Caldwell Elementary said.
Byrd says she hopes and prays that Tyler recovers for the sake of the family. She says she's spoken to the mother, who through faith and support, is fighting to be strong.
"Just to hear the sadness in her voice and hear he wasn't doing very good is just heartbreaking. I just want to be in Texas and to be there to comfort her," Byrd said.
Support has come from across the nation for this family. The funeral has been paid for, and airline tickets were donated to get the family back to Benton. If you would like to donate to the family, a fund has been set up under the John and Monalisa Johnson fund at any Bank of America.
