Salem man gets 16 years for causing crash that killed McNary student
The Salem man who flipped a car on Marion County backroads after a night of drinking with his teenage passengers, killing a McNary High School Junior, has been ordered to serve 16 years in prison.
Christopher J. Atkinson, 34, pleaded guilty Friday, April 17, in Marion County Circuit Court to first-degree manslaughter and three assault charges, as well as no contest to driving under the influence of intoxicants. The charges stem from a fatal crash on March 23, 2025, that killed 16-year-old Zolayha Johnson and seriously injured her 12-year-old sister. Two other teens in the car, a 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl, were also injured.
Atkinson also pleaded guilty to second-degree sex abuse in another case. He rented a hotel room for himself and three unnamed minors on March 10, 2025, and supplied them with alcohol, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. Atkinson then had “inappropriate sexual contact” with a 16-year-old girl who was under the influence of alcohol.
On the night of the crash Atkinson estimated he was driving close to 100 mph on a curvy stretch of Southeast Fern Ridge Road outside Stayton with an advisory speed limit of 25 mph, according to a police affidavit in support of his arrest. He told police he was driving too fast and “didn’t make the corner.”
“The defendant initially tried to walk away from the scene but returned,” the statement said.
The surviving 16-year-old told police Atkinson had been drinking and smoking marijuana with the group and driving for several hours before the crash.
Prosecutors said the Mercedes SUV skidded off the road and ejected Johnson, killing her at the scene. She participated in McNary’s choir and hoped to be a chef after graduating, according to a family fundraiser posted shortly after her death.
Judge Tracy Prall sentenced Atkinson to a total of 10 years in prison on the manslaughter charge and three years each for assault and sex abuse, with the sentences to be served consecutively.
“This was a heartbreaking and entirely preventable tragedy,” said Brendan Murphy, Marion County’s chief deputy district attorney, in a statement. “The defendant’s decisions resulted in the loss of a young life, and our office will continue to hold offenders accountable for devastating choices like this.”
Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers education, economic development and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for over a decade and is a past president of Oregon's Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Outside of work, you can often find her gardening or with her nose buried in a book.
