Mother Of OKC Cab Driver Killed In Crash Speaks To News 9

Heather Hope, News 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A mother is grieving the loss of her son. The cab driver whose taxi was hit by a van going the wrong way on I-235 has died. Benny Wadsworth passed away Saturday morning with relatives by his side.

Wadsworth's mother, Dru Wadsworth says her son loved people and animals. He grew up in Southern California and moved to Oklahoma City last summer to work as a cab driver. She says she knew the job could be dangerous, but she never thought she'd lose her only son at 37 years old.

"When you take the national statistics of how many miles a person drives in their lifetime and how the odds are of them being in an accident in that lifetime, you think about how much that multiplies for a cab driver who's driving 10 or 12 hours a day," she said.

Dru Wadsworth lives in Nevada, but got the call Friday morning that her only son Benny Wadsworth was in a terrible car accident on I-235. Police say a man driving a van was hit Wadsworth's cab head on as he was driving on the wrong side of the road.

Riding in the back of Wadsworth's car was passenger Warren Wand, who survived the crash, but Wadsworth wasn't so lucky.

"The last eight hours, his blood pressure had been extremely low, they notified me as soon as they started the removal of life support process," said Dru Wadsworth. "And within 20 minutes, I got the text that he was gone."

She says her two daughters came in from California and Texas to be by their brother's side for his final moments.

"It doesn't matter if it was seven months, seven years or 37 years, you're grateful for the time you had with him," said Dru Wadsworth. "You don't look at what you've lost you look at what you have."

She says Benny loved his cat Sam, and you can tell by his Facebook page. His sister will look after his cat now.

"He had a huge love of animals and a love of people," said Dru. "That's why he worked as a cab driver because he loved people."

The Yellow Cab Company he worked for in Oklahoma City says they plan to honor Benny by placing black ribbons on their cabs on Monday.

"I mean that touched my heart in a way I can't describe," said Dru. "That is such a honor for them to do that, and the family is going to remember how he always like to cut up and make jokes and be silly. He's at peace now with God, and not in pain, and you can't ask for a better outcome than that."

Wadsworth's mother says they haven't made any funeral arrangements yet, and that they donated his organs, which is how he would've wanted it.

Police still aren't sure why the man who hit Wadsworth was driving the wrong way. They are waiting on a toxicology report to see if alcohol was a factor.