|
|
Clues sought in crash that killed state trooper By CHARLOTTE HALE, Staff reporter New Jersey state police on Saturday were still investigating the cause of a traffic accident that killed a 16-year veteran of the Delaware State Police. Master Cpl. Ronald G. Williams Jr., 38, died Friday after the minivan he was riding in was struck by another car and overturned on the New Jersey Turnpike in Newark. Williams, a Newark-area resident, had been a trooper since August 1986, including duty as a patrol officer in Troops 6, 7 and 9, and in the special investigations section. In 1999, he moved to the agency’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
When you have those kind of credentials, it’s obvious you are a good officer, Delaware State Police spokesman Cpl. Bruce Harris said. Williams’ investigative skills were so sharp that he was awarded the Superintendent’s Citation three times. Fellow troopers credited his personality and ability to talk easily with others as the primary reasons he was a successful investigator.
He was a very easy-going person and well-liked, Harris said. When you try to get information from people and you’re like that, people tend to open up to you. A graduate of Elkton Christian School, Williams also attended Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tenn., Delaware Technical & Community College and Wilmington College. His wife, Nicole, also was a trooper for seven years before resigning in May to care for their infant daughter, Delaware State Police spokesman Lt. Timothy Winstead said. The couple had been married for about a year and a half, Winstead said.
This is tragic as it is, Winstead said, but the fact that he was a newlywed and had a newborn daughter makes it even more tragic. The crash occurred about 12:15 p.m., when an out-of-control car hit a tractor-trailer and then the van, driven by Nicole Williams. She and her daughter suffered minor injuries.
Reach Charlotte Hale at 324-2792 or chale@ delawareonline.com. Copyright 2002, The News Journal Co.
It is with deep regret that the Delaware State Police announce the death of a trooper who was killed August 9th as the result of injuries sustained in a three vehicle traffic crash on the New Jersey Turnpike near Newark.
Master Corporal Ronald G. Williams, Jr., 38, was a passenger in a 2001 Dodge van, driven by his wife Nicole. The vehicle was also occupied by the couple’s 9-month-old daughter.
The crash occurred at approximately 12:14 p.m. in the northbound lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike. A 2000 Toyota Avalon, driven by a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania woman, struck a 2000 Peterbilt tractor-trailer, then the Williams’ van. After the impact, the Dodge van ran off the left side of the road, struck a guardrail, and overturned, ejecting Corporal Williams. At the time of the collision Corporal Williams had left his seat to tend to his daughter, who was in an infant seat in the rear seat of the vehicle.
Corporal Williams was taken to University Hospital in Newark where he was pronounced dead at 12:56 p.m.
Nicole Williams and the infant sustained minor injuries.
Nicole Williams was also a Delaware State Trooper who recently left the Division to raise the couple’s infant daughter.
Master Corporal Ronald Williams was a resident of Newark. He graduated from Elkton Christian School and attended Tennessee Temple University, Chattanooga, TN, Delaware Technical and Community College, and Wilmington College.
Corporal Williams was hired as a Delaware State Trooper in August, 1986. During his career, Corporal Williams worked as a patrol officer at Troop 6, Prices Corner, Troop 7, Lewes, and Troop 9, Odessa. In 1996 he was assigned to the Special Investigations Section and in 1999 assigned to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Due to his outstanding investigative skills and dedication to serving the citizens of Delaware, Corporal Williams was awarded the prestigious "Superintendents Citation" on three occasions.
