FARGO, N.D. (AP) - The widow of a Fargo man who was killed in a head-on crash that police are investigating as an intentional act by the other driver said Thursday the incident has been heartbreaking for two families and she would like to see more attention paid to mental health issues.
Thomas Edmunds, 49, had just left work last Friday afternoon when a man police said was driving at a high rate of speed pulled into the oncoming lane and collided with Edmunds. The driver accused of causing the crash, Nathaniel Wilson, 30, of West Fargo, died at the scene. Edmunds died at a hospital.
Jordana Edmunds, who next month would have celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary with Tom, said she forgives Wilson.
“I think more than anything I just know that as much as our family is hurting, their family is hurting just as much,” she said. “Not only did they lose a loved one, they’re having to deal with many hurtful words on social media directed toward their loved one.”
Jordana said “we as a society and as a people” need to do a better job of supporting people like Wilson who may be suffering. She said she has not heard from Wilson’s family.
“They need to make it so that when people are hurting that bad they’re not feeling ashamed or guilty for reaching out for help,” she said. “I can’t even imagine how awful he must have been feeling if that’s what he felt was his only option.”
Police said in a statement that witness accounts and other evidence lead them to believe that Wilson purposely caused the collision. The two men did not know each other and police said it was not a case of road rage. No further details have been released.
Jordana said her husband’s vehicle essentially wound up in the driveway of his company and some of his co-workers were among the first on scene. She said she feels for those people who will be reminded of the crash while driving into work.
A GoFundMe page for the Edmunds family, which includes five children, had raised more than $26,000 as of Thursday afternoon. Jordana called it “a great visual” for how many people cared for Tom and have supported their family.
Tom was a private man who never complained despite spending “a lot of time in and out of the hospital and the emergency rooms” with a serious heart condition, Jordana said.
“He was always kind of quiet, but he was always smiling, he always looked out for his family and his friends, he was always willing to help others when they needed it,” she said.
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