Mother of Baird’s teen speaks out after fatal drunk-driving crash

BAIRD, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – After the recent loss of her 16-year-old son, Ryan Bilby, Baird’s mother, Ashley Rudder, is overwhelmed by memories. Bilby and 18-year-olds Layni Potter and Madi Buchanan were killed and two other teenagers were injured in a collision with a drunk driver on Sunday, May 5. Rudder met with KTAB/KRBC at the park where her son used to play to share some of her thoughts.

“We’re here where he spent his summers… In this field, in this place, they were over in that creek, crawfishing… We had a way. We wanted him to graduate and for him to go to work. He wanted to be a mechanic… He restored a T-body… It’s so hard to say it was him. Instead, he is,” Rudder said.

Hundreds gathered at the scene of the accident on Tuesday evening for a candlelight vigil to support the teenager’s friends and family. Rudder said she can’t properly mourn her loss until she feels justice has been served.

“They ended their night to go to bed… But instead here we are, grieving so much… I have so much love in my heart, but since Sunday morning I have never felt that anger in my heart,” Rudder said.

For now, she is devoting her time to raising awareness about the incident, speaking to the community and posting on social media. She hopes to provide closure for the children in the community who she considers her own and who are grieving the loss.

“We have these girls who are still here grieving. Bilby’s wife is…she’s having a hard time,” Rudder said.

Kyleigh Wheeler, whom Bilby called his “wife,” recounted the good times at Tuesday night’s vigil.

“One of my fondest memories was with him. We tried to get him to spend the night at my place and we begged and begged and begged. I asked his mother. I thought: What if we were married? What if we were married? She said: When you all get married, I don’t care what you do… So we thought we’ll get married. We looked for a certificate and wrote our names on it. And we were married by Mr. Policeman,” Wheeler recalled with a bittersweet laugh.

The funeral service for the young people has already begun. Madi Buchanan’s service was held on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Baird, Ryan Bilby’s service was on Thursday, May 9th at 2:00 p.m. at the same location and Layni Potter’s service will be there on Friday , May 10th, at 2:00 p.m.

Rudder said the community support is incredible right now. For many, like Wheeler, the person they look to in times of need is the very person they mourn.

“That was my best friend,” Wheeler said through tears.

“It’s crazy to think he won’t be there for his girls,” Rudder said.

The plans and dreams of friends and family members were overshadowed by the loss of the person with whom they wanted to share them and by the intervention of a community that ensured that none of them wanted to face this future alone.

“The other night a group of his friends came to my house. They said we knew it was early and they brought me roses for Mother’s Day because Bilby had done something for Mother’s Day. That’s going to be the hardest thing: waking up and not finding him… God has a plan, and I don’t know what it is yet, but he has a plan. But right now the plan is that we have to get justice for these babies. All of them,” Rudder said.

KTAB/KRBC has reached out to the families of the other teens involved. They declined to comment at this time.