Wiess freshman dies in car crash
Wiess College freshman Chris Williams, who students remember as outgoing and enthusiastic, died Sunday in a car accident.
According to the Bastrop County, Texas Department of Public Safety, Williams’ Mini Cooper drifted over the center line as he was driving westbound on Route 290. His car collided with an eastbound Jeep. Williams, 19, and the two passengers in the Jeep died at the scene. Three other eastbound travelers were injured.
Wiess College Master Michael Gustin said in the two weeks Williams was at Rice, he made many friends among freshmen and upperclassmen.
“He was very good at putting people at ease, so it was very easy for him to have a lot of friends,” Gustin said. “And he did have a lot of friends within a short period of time.”
Sid Richardson College junior Lindsay Balthrop, who was Williams’ co-fellow during Orientation Week, said Williams was very social. Balthrop said Williams was upbeat even after he fell and briefly lost consciousness during Wiess’ skits at the end of O-Week. Balthrop said Williams laughed and asked about the other members of his O-Week group while in the ambulance on the way to the emergency room. He liked to share funny stories, she said.
“He was a vibrant personality, almost electric,” Balthrop said. “You could talk to him for one time for 15 minutes and feel like you knew a lot about him because he was so ready to get to know people.”
Wiess College President Chris Kudron, who was one of Williams’ friends, said Williams quickly became involved in Rice activities. He had already attended a practice for club rugby — one of his favorite sports — and was cast in one of Wiess’ freshman one-act plays. Kudron, a senior, said each group wanted Williams to be in its play.
Williams also enjoyed soccer and played pick-up games in the Wiess acabowl, Kudron said.
“He was the type of person you want at Rice and who fits in because he does so much and wants to get his hand in a lot of different things,” Kudron said.
Williams attended high school at Eton College in England. After graduation, he spent a year traveling and had friends throughout the world, Gustin said. Kudron said Williams liked to talk about his travels in Cambodia, China, Thailand and Vietnam.
Balthrop said Williams was excited to be at Rice and in the United States.
“He was always talking about how … excited he was to be at Rice with so many opportunities here,” Balthrop said. “In everything he did, he always had a smile on his face and was just ready to jump in with all that is Rice.”
Kudron said he wishes he could have had more time to get to know Williams better.
“It’s not so much about what we knew in two weeks, but it’s more about what we were excited about for the future,” Kudron said.
Balthrop said Williams will be missed at Rice.
“He left a pretty big mark on a lot of people in a short time,” Balthrop said.
About 100 people attended a candlelight vigil Monday night in the driveway of the Wiess Masters House, and there was a memorial service in the college’s commons Thursday. Williams’ family will hold a private funeral in the Woodlands today and is planning a memorial service in London for late October.
Williams is survived by his parents, Stephanie of London and Derek of the Woodlands, Texas, and sister, Anabel.
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