Twenty-year-old Jamya Williams of Greenbelt died on July 4, 2021, after someone ran a red light and hit her car at 14th and K streets NW. Jamya’s mother, Dana Williams, shared her story with WAMU. 

It was pretty late that night. I went to sleep and then my phone rang. It was Jamya’s phone [on the other line] … But when I answered it was an EMT or a police officer, and they tell me Jamya was in a car accident. They were taking her to GW Hospital. And I just remember throwing on anything and going to the emergency room as fast as I could.

You’re not able to process it. It’s like you’re there, but you’re not there. It’s like you’re in a dream or something like that. I don’t know how to explain it. Even now, sometimes. I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem real.

She was the typical young girl. We had our moments as mothers and daughters do. When they start getting older, they think they’re grown and know everything. She was a cashier at Home Goods and liked buying things for her friends and family. She enjoyed playing with babies. She liked dogs. She had plans to go back to school… she always talked about being a heart surgeon. She watched a lot of Grey’s Anatomy. I think she actually would have at some point become a doctor because that’s all she talked about.

I don’t like driving at night anymore. I get like panic attacks, especially if someone zooms past me. I guess I would just want people to be more cautious when they drive and try to pay attention to the street lights and just other drivers on the road.

Her favorite color was yellow… so I put yellow in my hair because I don’t want her to fade in my mind if that makes sense. I keep her pictures and stuff around just so we always remember that she existed.

Honestly, I know things happen, as far as accidents and stuff. I think my main problem was that they got out of the car and just left. Did you see that she was hurt? How can you just leave someone like that? [It’s so hard] not having justice or at least knowing who the person is [that hit and killed her]… at least getting some type of reasons or explanation for what happened. But I don’t think I would ever have closure even if that person is arrested.

As a mother I just… I can’t.

Read Dana’s Op-Ed in Greater Greater Washington: Speed limiters for repeat offenders could have saved my daughter