Family, friends remember victim of Lake Tobesofkee boating crash
Friends and family of William Childs got a resolution Thursday when Eric Head, who was convicted of his death, was sentenced to 20 years.
Before Head was sentenced for his role in the fatal boating crash that occurred on Lake Tobesofkee on July 23, 2021, friends and family of William Childs, the 22-year-old assistant manager of lakeside restaurant Fish N Pig, spoke of the victim’s life before the crash — and how their lives have changed in the aftermath.
Head recognized that the accident was tragic and told the judge, “my heart goes out to the family and friends of the victim.”
“This was not a story I heard on the news or read as I scrolled on Facebook,” Jeannie Childs, William Childs’ mother, said Thursday at the Bibb County Superior Court to a sniffling audience. “This is the life of my son, the lives of all involved and all those who knew and loved Will.”
Fish N Pig restaurant was his second home
William Childs was born on March 11, 1999, and was named after his father and grandfather. The name suited him perfectly, according to Jeannie Childs. He had an older sister and an older brother, who spoiled him and modeled what he wanted to be when he grew up.
He played baseball, football and basketball, according to Jeannie Childs, because he thrived with the camaraderie and the belonging of being part of a team. But his favorite sport was racing in motocross, which would terrify Jeannie Childs, but gave William Childs a “huge smile on his face, the light in his eyes and ... his excitement when he won first place,” she said.
“Those weekends at the track, dusty, loud, full of family, friends and laughter are priceless memories,” Jeannie Childs said.
When William Childs was 16, he applied to be a busboy for Fish N Pig, which eventually became his second home, with the customers and coworkers being part of his family, Jeannie Childs said. He worked his way up until he became assistant manager, eventually dreaming about buying the restaurant and being the owner for it.
The morning of July 23, 2021, William Childs went into his mother’s office wearing khaki shorts and a purple Fish N Pig shirt telling her he was heading to work. Jeannie Childs told him she loved him and to be careful, to which William Childs responded with “I love you too, and always,” according to her statement in court.
But around 2:40 a.m. the next morning, she received a call from Lindsey Justice-Smith, who was on the pontoon boat with William Childs, who told her that he had been in an accident. A paramedic also spoke to Jeannie Childs, saying that they’re taking him to Atrium Navicent, that they would take care of him and that they’d be praying for the family.
“We could hear what the doctor was saying and see how badly Will was hurt, but my brain could not comprehend it,” Jeannie Childs said. “It just wasn’t sinking in.”
William Childs’ death changed the family, who loved and missed him very much. His presence was missed during the holidays or any other family event. As for Jeannie Childs, she said that her grief never truly ends.
“My grief is still real, my pain is still sharp and the life I lost cannot be restored,” Jeannie Childs said. “I can never go back to the person I was before, but I do know, without a doubt, that Will knew how much I loved him and I know how much he loved me.”
‘Left to watch over our hurt and dying friends’
Justice-Smith, who also provided a statement in court on Thursday, said Head’s sentencing was long overdue, and “the family, friends, and loved ones of William Childs can finally, after four years of utter heartbreak, have a sense of resolution.”
It’s also a victory for everyone in the pontoon boat, Justice-Smith said, when they were hit by Head’s boat that night.
“We were ran over, doused in gasoline and left to watch over our hurt and dying friends, alone and terrified,” she said. “The terror that we had to experience in that boat was the kind of feeling that doesn’t go away.”
Justice-Smith said Head should face the consequences of his “poor judgment and reckless behavior” that took William Childs’ life and ruined countless more.
“Let today be the day that justice is truly served and we can finally get off that boat,” she said.
