Imagine having spent a day at work thinking about the joy of seeing your family at the end of the day.

You have a wife and two loving, energetic, enjoyable daughters. You know that the minute they see your car turn the corner, they will enthusiastically run to greet you.

You feel like a king, and no matter what problems you are faced with during the day, how tired you are, or the issues that await you at home, it all becomes secondary to the joy you feel from seeing your daughters smiling faces.

The last thing on your mind when you get a glimpse of them is that tragedy might strike before you are able to hug them and hear them chatter about the day’s events.

Burton Williams, 50, could not have anticipated the tragic events of Sunday, June 25, 2000 which left one daughter dead and another in critical condition in the hospital. He will probably spend the rest of his life having the nightmare of the shattered dreams that he had for his daughters’ future. He will replay the events from backing into the driveway for the rest of his life . . . recalling the thump followed by Lorraine and Cheryl’s screams for a very long time.

Williams’ Plymouth Colt sits in the quiet driveway where the tragic accident took place. PRESS Photo by Ira Cohen

As a father of daughters, I could not help but remember how they would run to the door crying as I would leave the house. When I returned they would race one another to see who would get to me first.

One graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1999, and the other followed in 2000. They lived together and were supportive of each other during their college years.

Prayerfully Cheryl will recover and Mr. Williams and his wife will find peace of mind.

But they will never recover what was lost on that fateful day.

Burton, by all accounts, possesses the work ethic and family values that I have seen in many West Indian families. While he worked, his wife stayed at home with his daughters. He was not an absentee father or wayward husband. He loved his children and was expressive in his commitment to them.

Fortunately, no charges were filed against Mr. Williams for what was obviously a tragic accident. Neighbors have expressed their support for Mr. Williams based on the excellent relationship he shared with his children.

The entire Queens community should take time to let Mr. Williams know that we are all praying for his family in this time of great mourning. He should not be made to feel ashamed for what has happened.

These are the kinds of circumstances that occur in life over which we have no control.

However, it is all in God’s hands.