Loved ones are devastated after a beloved pastor and father of four children was killed by a hit-and-run driver while cycling in Huntington Beach.
On Oct. 20, Eric Williams, 45, was cycling with two friends along Pacific Coast Highway when, shortly before 7 a.m., they were struck by a driver in a Mercedes-Benz sedan.
Huntington Beach police said the suspect, Amber Calderon, 43, of Long Beach, reportedly drove onto the shoulder of the road where the bicyclists were traveling.
Eric was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other two victims suffered severe injuries including spinal fractures, broken ribs and a broken ankle, along with cuts and bruises.
Calderon did not stop driving “despite having a flat tire and obvious damage to her car,” according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. “Instead, she continued driving another 2/3 mile and blew through a state park parking lot kiosk without paying before being blocked in by another driver who witnessed the crash and followed her to the parking lot.”
She eventually stopped about half a mile away from the crash site where she was taken into custody. Her car was found with significant damage to the hood, windshield and front bumper and her passenger-side mirror was missing, police said.
Loved ones said Eric and his wife, Robyn, had just celebrated their 20th anniversary and are devoted parents to four young children.
On Friday night, hundreds of attendees, including friends, family and church members, held a candlelight vigil to honor Eric, who was a beloved pastor in Garden Grove.
He founded the Community Church of West Garden Grove and had previously worked as a youth and teaching pastor at Seaside Community Church in Huntington Beach, according to the Orange County Register. Friends said Eric also had a passion for cycling.
“He was a great kid,” Eric’s father, Ted Williams, told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade. “I have no regrets. He was wonderful.”
Ted described his son as someone who was dedicated to helping others. “He lived well and he loved well. I’m proud of my boy.”
“My brother was a family man,” said Eric’s sister, Alli Joy Vasquez. “He just loved people.”
On Oct. 22, Calderon was charged with one felony count of hit-and-run causing permanent injury or death and two felony counts of hit-and-run with injury. If convicted, she faces up to five years and four months in prison.
“Human life is precious, and an early morning bike ride with friends turned into what can only be described as a heartbreaking tragedy,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We are working closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure justice is carried out to the fullest extent of the law for Mr. Williams and his loved ones and for the two other bicyclists who survived such a horrific ordeal on what should have been a peaceful ride along the beach.”
A GoFundMe page to help Eric’s family with funeral expenses can be found here.
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