Brothers’ family mourning after deadly crash involving ‘Widowmaker Tree’

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC/Gray News) - The family of two South Carolina brothers is mourning after a car crash left them and two of their friends dead. They are also calling for action because the crash involved a tree commonly referred to as the “Widowmaker Tree.”

Brothers Earl Hamilton Jr., 29, and James Hamilton, 27, were among four people killed in a crash on James Island just after 1 a.m. Nov. 18, which was also James’ birthday. The other two victims were identified as 26-year-old Mitchell Watson and 29-year-old Tyler Barron. A fifth person survived the crash and was treated for serious injuries.

The Hamilton brothers’ family is left mourning the pair, whom their mother, Jametta Hamilton, described to WCSC as inseparable.

“They were always together,” she said. “When you saw one, you always saw the other.”

Jametta Hamilton adds the group of friends, who all went to day care together, had been at a football game and were celebrating James Hamilton’s birthday at a bar the night before. She received a phone call around 4 a.m. saying they had been in a deadly crash.

“All of those children grew up in my house at all times,” she said. “They were always there playing video games. Whenever I come home, there they were... and I didn’t have to worry because they were there and I felt like they were a safe haven.”

Deborah Browning, a cousin, said she found out about the loss early that Saturday morning, and all the cousins started messaging. She said they talked about how they were the “only ones left.”

“As first cousins, our chain has been broken,” Browning said. “Earl and James had such a great impact on James Island. They had such an impact on the lives of so many others.”

The victims’ great-aunt and godmother, Marlene Williams, said she helped raise them as if they were her own kids.

“They’ve just been a joy,” she said. “Just like my sons.”

She and Jametta Hamilton say something needs to be done on Riverland Drive, where the crash happened. Police said the victims’ SUV ran off the road and struck a tree commonly referred to as the “Widowmaker Tree.” Data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety shows since 2018, there have been 23 total collisions involving the tree.

“Please put some kind of barrier around that corner, that it would save someone else’s life along the way,” Williams said.

The newly elected mayor of James Island, Brook Lyon, said she reached out to state officials about the urgent safety issue at the dangerous curve, and it is her understanding they are addressing the situation and are looking into different options to address it in a timely manner. She said her heart and thoughts and prayers go out to the families.

With this being a state-maintained road, the South Carolina Department of Transportation said they continue to work with the appropriate local officials to evaluate this corridor for potential safety improvements.

The family said because of their strong faith, they know the Lord needed the Hamilton brothers more in heaven than they were needed here on Earth.

“Our hearts are broken, but our spirit and our souls are moving and traveling on,” Jametta Hamilton said. “Because the Lord said they’re not going to be here always and there’s going to be a time like this.”

She said James leaves behind a 1-year-old, and Earl leaves behind an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old. She praises the other victims’ mothers for still showing up for one another during this time, even while they grieve. They have all been to each other’s funerals.

“My heart is broken, and I’m mourning,” Jametta Hamilton said. “But I know that mourning doesn’t come always. You have to have some joy. So, in order for me to have joy and peace, I have to hold onto God’s unchanging hands because he said he’ll give me peace through the storm. He told them on the raging sea, he said, ‘Peace be still.’ So, we are being still in this time of storm.”

The family said they want the Hamilton brothers to be remembered for always lighting up every room they walked into.

The Charleston Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team determined none of the five people inside the vehicle were wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, and the four who died were ejected from the SUV.

Investigators are still waiting for toxicology reports from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for the driver of the vehicle and analyzing data from the vehicle’s Event Data Recorder to identify any available collision-relevant information.

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