Members of a Virginia family had four hours left to go to reach destination in Tampa when Megan Snyder said they were slammed into by a suspected drunk driver in Glynn County.
It’s a day that changed their lives forever.
“I felt and saw our car turning, flipping over and over and over again. In my head wondering “is this real? This is happening to us right now? Not us,” Megan wrote on a GoFundMe account that was set up to help her family.
Inside the car was Megan, her 45-year-old husband, William “Billy,” their 2-year-old son, William, and their 12-year-old nephew, Jaden. Billy died in the crash that shut Interstate 95 down for a five-mile stretch from Golden Isles Parkway to Georgia Highway 99 for more than four hours on Christmas morning.
Megan said she and her husband switched after driving for eight hours. She said cruise control was set at 70 mph with only several hours to Tampa.
“My body is numb and my heart is broken. Broken into pieces that will never, ever be put back together,” Megan wrote. “I have lost my very best friend. My soulmate. The BEST daddy, husband, son, friend, brother, cousin, Uncle, c-worker, everything. This man was EVERYTHING to me. He was taken from me. His life was stolen. He was taken from the life we have built together. This unbelievable love we have, we were truly made for one another. I have no idea how to continue on without him. I look at this beautiful, darling little boy we have made and he is my everything. The way William loved his daddy, oh god, the way they bonded, it was unreal.”
Megan & William Snyder, 2 yo son & 12 yo nephew of Virginia were 4 hours out from Tampa when Megan says a drunk driver slammed into them in GA and killed William on Christmas morning. Brunswick news reports state troopers arrested Brandon Mack, 33, in connection to crash. @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/oErxQ9UMNc
— Brittany Muller (@BrittMullerNews) December 27, 2020
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the Snyders were traveling in a Hyundai Santa Fe on southbound I-95 around 4:35 a.m. Friday when the SUV was struck from behind by a Chevrolet Impala. Troopers said the Sante Fee overturned and a passenger, who was identified as Billy, was ejected and died at the scene.
According to state troopers, just prior to the crash, the Impala sped by a witness. Troopers also said two witnesses saw the driver of the Impala, who was identified as Brandon Mack, walking south on I-95 after the crash.
Mack was detained by Glynn County police near the southbound rest area and the key to the Impala was in his pocket, according to GSP. Troopers said “there was a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person and in his vehicle” and a search warrant for blood and an arrest warrant for first-degree vehicular homicide were obtained. Mack, 33, is also charged with DUI and hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, according to The Brunswick News.
“My Billy. He is now looking over us and I just can’t believe it. I need him here. I need him next to me, guiding our boy, calming my nerves, loving my heart,” Megan wrote.
Megan told News4Jax Billy has a daughter, Haley, who was not in the car during the crash.
This drive is something the family does twice a year, every year, from Virginia to Tampa, according to the family. Megan said her son and nephew have bruising and scratches but are OK. Megan said she has pain from head to toe on top of the pain from losing her husband.
Anyone who would like to help the Snyder family can do so by visiting the GoFundMe account that has been created.
