Bentley University chapter founder dies

[RobbieNelson]

Drury grad killed in crash

It may be ‘weeks' before investigators determine the cause of the accident that claimed Sean Williams, 22.
By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Updated: 01/12/2010 06:38:56 AM EST



CLARKSBURG -- Investigators and loved ones of Sean Williams are still wondering what caused the automobile crash that killed the 22-year-old Clarksburg man on the Mohawk Trail on Sunday afternoon.

"Everyone's in such a state of shock. He was such a wonderful kid," Lorena "Renie" Bianco, Williams' grandmother, said Monday.

Williams was a senior studying accounting at Bentley University in Waltham and graduated with honors from North Adams' Drury High School in 2006. He was a three-sport athlete there, serving as a team captain in varsity soccer, basketball and golf.

According to a report from the Massachusetts State Police at the Shelburne Falls barracks, Williams was headed west through Shelburne in a 2004 Honda Civic on the Route 2 portion of the Mohawk Trail when he collided with an eastbound 1997 Dodge pickup truck around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup -- 52-year-old Stephen Olaskiewicz, and his passenger, 51-year-old Carol Olaskiewicz, both of Concord, N.H. -- were transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield with injuries but were later released.

A state police spokesman said it could be "weeks" before investigators have any definitive answers as to what caused the collision. Route 2 generally is known as a winding road, but it is unknown if the terrain contributed to the crash.

Bentley University spokeswoman Michele Walsh noted that although the university remains on winter break, Williams likely would have been traveling as the manager of the men's varsity basketball team, which won a home game against Southern Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to being involved in basketball, Williams was a member of the rugby club at Bentley and helped establish a chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity on campus in March 2009. He recently served as the chapter's vice president.

In the Berkshires on Monday, family members and those who knew Williams mourned and reflected on the young man's life.

"He was a really great kid," Drury principal Amy Meehan said.

"He was a reliable, hard-working, all-around good kid. People loved him. For all of us, this is just a tragic thing," said Cathy Pohle, a manager at the pro shop at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, where Williams worked in high school and into his college years.

A fan of Boston pro sports teams, he was known to talk up the Celtics and wear a Red Sox cap to work, Pohle said.

Williams is survived by his parents -- Richard and Linda Williams of Clarksburg -- and an older brother, Ross, of New York City.

The funeral will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church in North Adams.

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