Hours After Being Sworn In, Lawmaker Killed in Crash

On his way home from his inaugural ball, a Connecticut state representative's vehicle was struck by a wrong-way driver, killing the lawmaker early Thursday. Quentin Williams, 39, who was first elected in 2019 and had just been sworn in for his third term Wednesday, was driving south on Route 9 to get home when he was hit at about 12:45am by a vehicle traveling north in the southbound lane, the New York Times reports. Williams' car was "fully engulfed in flames" following the collision. He was pronounced dead at the scene, ABC News reports. The driver of the other vehicle, Kimede Katie Mustafaj, 27, was also killed in the crash.

"Last night, Q Williams was so full of energy, joy, and passion for his new role and the work ahead," tweeted Luke Bronin, mayor of Hartford, alongside a photograph of him with Williams at the black-tie inaugural ball Wednesday night. "Heartbroken by the news this morning." Williams, a Democrat, was the first African American person to represent the city of Middletown, according to his website. "I can only think of one word to describe him—hopeful," says Connecticut's attorney general. "Q was always brimming with optimism and possibility. He had a spirit that was relentlessly positive and aspirational. We need his light more than ever, and that’s why it is so hard to lose him." (More Connecticut stories.)