Remembered Jennifer Williamson, Paramus Bus Crash Victim,
Remembered Jennifer Williamson, Paramus Bus Crash Victim
PARAMUS, NJ — Dolores Williamson was at her daughter's grave one day when a man she did not know walked up to her.
The man was there to visit Jennifer Williamson's grave. He was one of her former students.
"He said one time he was going through a very bad time and that Jennifer spoke to him and it changed him. He said he saved her life," Dolores Williamson said. "Whatever she could have said, I don't know, but she was a very compassionate and kind soul."
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Jennifer Williamson, 51, and Miranda Vargas, 10. They were killed in a horrific school bus crash on Interstate 80.
"I still feel surreal about the whole thing," Dolores Williamson said. "My heart hurts. My heart hasn't really accepted it yet. It doesn't feel like a year at all. It feels like yesterday."
Jennifer Williamson was a friend to so many people, her mother said. She befriended them without really trying to.
"Jen made a friend of everybody. She was always remembered by people," Dolores Williamson said. "She wasn't even aware she was doing it, it was just her talent, her kindness. When people tell me those stories about her, I feel so much gratitude."
Williamson and her older brother, Doug were very close growing up, he said. They grew even closer after their brother, Christopher, died in a car crash in 1990.
"After my brother died, Jen and I became so close, it was beyond brother and sister. There's nothing good about my brother dying, except that. That's what really hard about everything. Now she is gone too," Doug Williamson said. "We were best friends, and we always had each other's back. It was an amazing thing to have, knowing that you could tell someone anything and never be judged, no matter what."
The bus Jennifer Williamson was on was filled with students, teachers, and chaperons from East Brook Middle School. They were on a field trip to Waterloo Village in Sussex County. Dozens of people were injured.
"I lost one special girl," Dolores Williamson said. "We all know you don't turn around in a spot like that."
Hudy Muldrow Sr., 78, drove the school bus. He reportedly made an illegal U-turn on a police turnaround to get to the other side of the highway. That's when a dump truck crashed into the bus.
Muldrow pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree reckless vehicular homicide, 25 counts of fourth-degree assault by auto, and 16 counts of assault by auto. He was indicted on all charges and arraigned last month.
Muldrow's trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 7, the Daily Record reported.
This past year has been one filled with sorrow for Doug Williamson.
"Every day this past year, I've felt sorrow," he said. "I'm going to miss growing old with her.
But there is another feeling that's been welling up inside him too.
"I feel very proud," he said. "I've heard so many stories from so many people over the past year of how she touched their lives."
A new memorial near Besen Park was dedicated to Vargas and Williamson Saturday. A number of people who knew Williamson spoke at the dedication ceremony.
"I think she would have liked the memorial," said Doug Williamson. "It's the perfect spot."
Dolores Williamson was at the dedication ceremony, along with others close to her daughter.
"She would have loved it. She was a nature lover. The whole setting is beautiful," Dolores Williamson said. "You could feel the love all around you and it certainly helped me to get through my day. I asked everyone there to be kind to one another, to practice kindness, because Jen was very kind. I miss her terribly."
Williamson would often talk with Doug about what would happen when one of the died.
"We would often talk about what would happen and if we knew the other one would be alright," said Doug Williamson, who was in his driveway one morning thinking of his sister when a bus driver drove by and waved at him. Then he turned around, went past him, and waved again.
"We don't have any kids near us, and he doesn't know me. There was no reason for him to do that," Doug Williamson said. "Up until that point I wasn't sure if I believed she was OK. I took it as a sign that she is. Now I do believe." https://patch.com/new-jersey/paramus/jennifer-williamson-paramus-bus-crash-victim-remembered
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