JACKSON COUNTY, Texas – A seemingly joyful Labor Day camping trip turned tragic for Chelsea Williams and her boyfriend, Benjamin Faulk, when an unforeseen incident changed their lives forever. The couple had set out to enjoy their new travel trailer alongside Faulk’s father and stepmother in the scenic town of Port Lavaca.
On the morning of Labor Day, after packing up their belongings and heading back to New Braunfels, Williams found herself in a life-altering situation. While they were on State Highway 172 near La Ward in Jackson County, a flat tire on the trailer prompted a quick stop to make repairs. Despite the fast-moving traffic on the narrow two-lane highway, Faulk managed to replace the tire, but seconds later, tragedy struck.
“The truck clipped me on my shoulder,” Williams recounted, her voice shaking with emotion. In the chaos, she initially did not realize the extent of her injuries. Her immediate instinct was to check on Faulk. “I look over, and the truck is pulling over, and then I look down at him, and he’s on the ground, unconscious and bleeding,” she recalled, heart-wrenchingly.
In that moment of panic, Williams rushed to Faulk’s side, cradling him as she awaited emergency assistance. A good Samaritan stopped and called 911 while she held Faulk in her arms, desperately hoping for a miracle. As the ambulance arrived, first responders began their assessment but delivered devastating news: there was nothing they could do to save him.
The incident has prompted an investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are appealing to anyone who may have been in the vicinity of State Highway 172 around noon on Labor Day for dash cam footage or eyewitness accounts. According to reports, two vehicles were seen pulling onto the shoulder about 100 feet from the crash scene before driving away, leaving Williams and her family without answers.
“It’s not fair, because they know what they did, and it’s not for us to go on and not know who did it,” Williams expressed, holding back tears. “Because I don’t know how you live with yourself when you kill someone; you just drive away.” The emotional toll of losing her partner is evident as she reflects on what has been taken from her. “Everything. My person. They took away my person,” she said, her grief palpable.
Williams described Faulk as a gentle soul, a man who never raised his voice and was simply perfect in her eyes. The couple’s dreams for the future together have been shattered, leaving a void that is impossible to fill.
In light of this tragedy, anyone with relevant information or video footage regarding the hit-and-run incident is urged to contact the DPS office at 361-578-3498 or the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office at 361-782-3541. The family seeks closure and justice for a life lost too soon.
