Beloved LEX 18 employee killed in Friday night crash

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – On Saturday, many members of the LEX 18 News family woke up to the news of the loss of our beloved colleague Billy Williamson. He died in a car accident on Friday evening. He was 54 years old. He worked at LEX 18 for 21 years alongside longtime anchors like Nancy Cox, who remembers getting to know him.

Cox said: “We will all miss Billy so much, we were like a second family to him and he was something of a little brother to all of us, even though he is now in his fifties. But I can’t imagine the pain this is causing.” His biological family and those closest to him are just not okay.

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Williamson was most recently a graphic designer at the news station. His work can be seen in the LEX 18 shows. When he wasn’t working, he loved playing sports, being outside, having chill evenings with colleagues and simply enjoying everything life had to offer.

Cox says: “He was a bit shy at first and I didn’t know if this guy liked me? He doesn’t like me, but that was Billy, he sized people up and then showed his personality, that was him.” He was great to work with. I presented him with a project and didn’t know what I wanted graphically and tried to explain, “Can we do something decent with this?” At first he huffed and puffed, but within an hour he thought, “Hey, what if “We’re going to do this?” And he sent me examples and he was so invested in it that he was really an excellent professional.”

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Williamson’s personality was big and brightened everyone’s day. Working with someone who is passionate about what they do and cares about the people they work with is irreplaceable.

“It’s just priceless,” Cox said. “Our jobs are stressful, many people work in stressful environments and we require so much teamwork. The people you see on camera at the end of the day are just a small part of what.” Billy was a big part of it and we needed him and he needed us, we all worked together and if a member of this team you “If you can put a smile on your face despite the stress, the hard work and the long hours, election reporting and all that crazy stuff, it changes everything, it makes what you do even more worthwhile.”

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LEX 18 viewers didn’t get the chance to meet the man Williamson was working on behind the scenes. He was the type of man who got to know you and embraced you like family, a man who deeply loved his own family and community.

“Everything we do to spread the news has to be creative, everything has to tell you a story and convey exactly what you need to know in a way that resonates with you. And graphics are definitely a thing.” Part of it. Everything Billy did was a part of that – he knew that and he wanted to give the viewer the best possible experience,” says Cox. “He was proud of what he did and it took a lot of hard work to get our product together and Billy was a big part of it.”