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by pltm
(PLTM) - "Oh my God, were the last words my wife said, the last I heard her voice," said Patrick Husereau, who lost his wife, Dana, in a tragic tour bus accident in 2015.
Husereau and his wife, 53 at the time, were among the 20 cruise ship passengers onboard Roger Williams' tour bus, on the fatal morning of December 6, 2015. His wife died instantly in the Cane Garden Bay accident.
Husereau, a key witness, flew in from the United States to testify in the High Court trial of Williams, who is charged with two counts of Manslaughter and two counts of Causing Death by Dangerous Driving, in relation to the death of Dana and another female passenger, 67 year-old Mary Kettner.
"It was about 30 seconds before we came to a stop...And I saw brains, looked at my wife and her scalp had been torn like 3 inches and was hanging. She was slumped forward," the aggrieved husband told the court on Friday, June 23.
Husereau recounted the hours leading up to the crash, telling the jury that they got off the cruise ship and onto to the Pier Park, and was talked into boarding Williams' bus to head to Cane Garden Bay.
He said that they were seated on the right hand side in the second row of the bus, with his wife seated close to the window.
The witness said it was raining and they were waiting for a while in the bus for more passengers to be added. He said he queried from Williams when they were going to depart.
"Not in a friendly response, in an angry voice, he said in 10 minutes."
Husereau then suggested to his wife that they get off the bus, but she said that he needed to be patient. They however drove off in 10 minutes.
He related that at one point on the journey, there was a sharp corner, and Williams blew his horn before he turned. To this end, a passenger allegedly commented, "I am glad you are driving because I closed my eyes," and Williams allegedly responded, "I did too."
When they reached at the top of the hill, the driver showed them the view to the other islands (Jost Van Dyke and USVI).
The witness said he could not recall if they were moving or they came to a stop, but no one got off the bus.
He said at some point, Williams allegedly commented, "Up with lightning and down with thunder."
Husereau said when they were heading down the hill, from where he was seated, he could clearly see the driver struggling.
"I noticed him trying to get the bus back in gear and we were moving at a fast pace...He was out of gear trying to get it back into gear, Husereau said, noting that he is familiar with driving standard gear shift.
The witness said no one anticipated anything.
“I thought he was screwing around, joking, trying to scare us; had no idea," he recalled.
"I held on to the railing in front of me, just hanging on...It (bus) hit the hill...I was jerking in all directions, left to right...There were so much debris coming in my face...The bus was just traveling out of control," the tourist stated.
He further recounted, "I was looking straight ahead...As we got closer to the bottom, I felt I was pulled to the right and it came to a stop..."
Kim Hollis, QC, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), asked the witness about his wife at that point in time when the bus stopped, after hitting the hillside.
"She said oh my God."
He said that after realizing that she was dead, he hugged her.
"I realized that she was gone. I climbed out the window of the bus...I was screaming, crying, and I walked up the hill by a driveway."
He suffered injuries to the lower back, abdomen and bruises.
Under cross examination from Defense Lawyer Richard Rowe, the witness said that Williams was driving carefully until around the corner when he blew his horn.
