MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee mother haunted by the death of her son is on a mission to end distracted driving. Saturday she’ll host a deadly crash reenactment with the goal of highlighting the dangers of not paying attention behind the wheel.
Cynthia Williams's son, Christopher Williams would have been 30 this year, but he was stripped of his life when he was 17 after a car crash in Atlanta. Now, Cynthia wants to expose others to the horrors of distracted driving.
“When the driver was distracted, the car flipped about nine times. So, he was thrown from the car and he didn’t die right away, I had to pull the plug,” Cynthia said.
Since that day, her life has never been the same, but she’s committed to pressing forward with her organization Love From Afar. That’s why promoting focused driving is now her life’s work, and with the passing of officer Kou Her who was tragically killed in a crash Tuesday morning weighing heavy on the community’s hearts, Cynthia hopes Saturday's presentation is even more impactful.
“When the chicken and the mashed potatoes and the repass and the funeral is over, you spend many nights alone trying to understand how you were chosen to walk through something like this,” Cynthia said.
Saturday’s mock crash will take place near Clarke and Sherman at 9:45 AM, right outside of Washington High School —it’s considered one of Milwaukee's busier roads. To date, there have been 18 deadly crashes in Milwaukee with 19 victims —that’s about three deadly crashes a month —last year there were 53.
“It’s too many people dying from car crashes, and we have to do something about it,” Cynthia said.
