8-year-old girl killed in accident was a singer, dancer

Friday night karaoke at grandma Jennifer Winn’s house will be without its star: 8-year-old Kiya Dawn Johnson.

Winn, who ran for Kansas governor against Sam Brownback, said Kiya was the oldest of her 11 grandchildren and always instructed the others how to hold the mic during their weekly sleepovers. Kiya died Thursday night when an SUV driven by her mother and full of family members was involved in an accident.

Winn said they were headed to Kiya’s aunt’s house to make costumes for Halloween. Kiya was going to be a spider.

“Everyone was excited because they were going to make costumes,” Winn said.

Kiya’s mother, Kayla Johnson, was driving a 2001 Lincoln Navigator southbound on South West Street and tried to turn left in front of a northbound 2018 Jeep being driven by a 28-year-old man.

Wichita Police Department officer Paul Cruz said the man would have had the right-of-way.

The impact hit the rear side of the SUV near where Kiya sat, Winn said.

The SUV overturned and collided with a 2012 Dodge Challenger driven by a 39-year-old man stopped at a red light on Taft. Kiya was ejected from the SUV. The driver of the Challenger and all six of the occupants in the SUV were taken to the hospital, where Kiya was pronounced dead.

“I wouldn’t trade the eight years I had with that precious baby for anything,” Winn said, crying.

Winn said all of her family — except 5-year-old Brycen Martin — has been released from the hospital. Martin had surgery for a fractured femur Friday but he’s expected to recover.

Kiya also had a 2-year-old cousin, aunt and 5-year-old sister in the SUV with her.

Kiya was a third-grade homeschool student with nearly a seventh-grade reading level, Winn said. Her favorite karaoke song was “You are my Sunshine.” She took dance classes at the YMCA and had plans to be president.

“She was going to grow up and be president because she was going to change the world so grandma didn’t have to fight,” Winn said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral costs: https://www.gofundme.com/f/kiya-dawn-johnson-memorialfund?fbclid=IwAR1n1IFdEi2LURc7WRQ2cnmWYufKmNp8cNG0Ypp0fvBH0mrLXdDqhP8FLac)

The WPD is investigating if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 5:39 PM.