He loved video games, violin

Wyatt Michael Williams-Herres was listening to his new radio Friday night when one of his favorite songs began to play.

“The last thing he said was ‘Dragula’s on by Rob Zombie,’ ” said his mother, Erica Williams.

But Wyatt didn’t get to hear the end of the song. The 11-year-old boy died when the sport utility vehicle he was riding in was struck by a Dodge pickup truck about 11:30 p.m. Friday near the intersection of Trent and Mission avenues in Spokane.

The driver of the truck, 45-year-old William R. Keizer, is charged with vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and drunken driving. Keizer told police the night of the crash that he had been drinking since 3:30 p.m. and “just wanted to make it home” when he got behind the wheel.

“I made a bad choice,” he said, according to a report by Spokane Police Officer Brian Cestnik. “For what it counts, I’ll own it.”

Keizer remains in jail on a $500,000 bond. He said little in his first appearance in Spokane County District Court Monday, other than to ask the judge if “there’s any way I can get the bond reduced.” Judge Annette S. Plese declined.

Wyatt’s adoptive father, 37-year-old Jaret Herres, suffered a broken pelvis and several broken ribs in the crash. He underwent surgery Sunday, Williams said, and remained in serious but stable condition at Deaconess Medical Center late Monday.

Two other passengers in the SUV – Williams and Herres’ son, 8-year-old Orion Herres – were not seriously injured.

Relatives described Wyatt as a happy boy with a passion for video games, skateboarding, storytelling and the violin. He attended Willard Elementary School and loved to draw and create books, said Wanda Cowart, his great-grandmother.

The night of the crash, Wyatt had given Cowart a book he made titled “Why I love Grams,” she said. The family was returning from a holiday celebration at her Deer Park home when the crash occurred.

“This is a story you read about and see on TV that happens to the guy next door,” Cowart said. “We’re the guy this year, and it’s a very hurtful thing.”

Witnesses described Keizer’s driving prior to the accident as reckless, with a high rate of speed involved, according to Spokane police. He admitted to drinking at least 12 shots of alcohol, mostly tequila, and an unknown amount of beer before the crash, according to police. He couldn’t recall whether he was drinking at the time of the crash but said “I knew I had too much to drink,” according to police. Police found a full bottle of beer near his car after the crash.

Wyatt was found trapped in the rear driver’s side seat of his family’s SUV. The crash crushed his skull, according to police, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Keizer, a Spokane resident for six years, lives with his two children and girlfriend, according to court documents. He previously lived in Chewelah and has one charge of driving with a suspended license on his record.

Williams said her son was “a very sweet, sensitive, caring person” who loved to make people laugh and would go out of his way to cheer someone up.

She recalled a time around Christmas a couple years ago when she was feeling particularly depressed.

“He looked at me and he said ‘Mom, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world,’ ” she said. He picked out an outfit from her closet for her to wear and said, “Mom, you’re going to look beautiful in this.”

“He got me back to living life again,” Williams said. “He’s an inspiration to a lot of people.”

Skateboarding and playing the violin were two of his biggest passions, Williams said. He was strong-willed, dreamed of joining the Marines and loved rock musicians like Zombie and Alice Cooper.

His interest in skateboarding was often hampered by his klutziness, she said.

“No matter how hard he got hurt, he still kept going,” she said. After breaking his foot jumping from a rock a few years ago, “he still tried to ride the skateboard with the walking cast on.”

He was also a voracious reader, spending hours on the Guinness Book of World Records.

“He was just fascinated with all the different things that go on in the world,” Williams said. Williams bought Wyatt the 2007 edition of the Guinness Book this Christmas, but he never saw it.

Cowart said her family will try to focus on the good when remembering Wyatt.

“He was certainly a precious soul while we had him,” Cowalt said.