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Editorial

An answered prayer flowers into a friendship between speeder and trooper

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Michael Williams and Mississippi State Trooper Caleb McQueen (Credit: Mississippi Highway Patrol)

VICKSBURG, Miss. (Vicksburg Daily News)–A chance meeting between a speeder and a Mississippi State Trooper has blossomed into a friendship led by “divine intervention”.

Michael Williams is a Slidell resident who suffered a tragic loss when his brother was killed in a triple shooting on March 28.

Stricken with grief, Williams tried to communicate to his brother through prayer, hoping for a sign that his brother was okay and in a better place. However, the feelings that Williams was experiencing were leaving him restless and stricken with grief. Williams felt he needed an escape from his home for a while and took a trip to Mississippi to visit a casino.

During his trip, his thoughts found ways of gravitating back to the memory of his brother. Williams recently took an active role in his brother’s life who was having a troublesome time. He had been a teenager before and wasn’t exactly a model family member. Williams stated his family disowned him at 16, but when he was contacted about his brother, he took the situation to heart as a chance to right the wrongs in his life and help his sibling.

On his way back from his casino trip, Williams passed a state trooper while speeding. Before long, Mississippi State Trooper Caleb McQueen was behind him, signaling for the traffic stop. Neither one of them knew what the outcome of their encounter would be.

McQueen approached the driver’s side of Williams’ Camaro and asked for the license and registration. However, instead of returning to the vehicle, McQueen could see that something heavy was weighing on Williams’ mind.

McQueen asked Williams what was on his mind, which caught Williams off guard. He was expecting the normal protocol of the officer returning to the vehicle to issue a citation. Instead, the trooper tried to connect and figure out the deeper issue.

Williams opened up to the trooper and told him about the situation with his brother. He told McQueen that he wanted his brother out of the city of New Orleans because of the crime rates in the area. Two weeks before the loss of his brother, Williams had taken him in.

The two talked in length before the trooper handed Williams back his paperwork without issuing a citation. Before departing, Williams asked the trooper for his name. McQueen displayed his name on his badge “Caleb McQueen”. Williams broke down and cried.

Confused, McQueen asked Williams what was wrong. The words would not leave Williams’ mouth at this point. All he could do was point at McQueen’s badge and cry. Williams eventually pulled out a smartphone and showed the trooper a news report concerning his brother, “Caleb Johnson.”

Both Williams and McQueen got chills. Williams exited the vehicle and met McQueen at the back of the car, where the two hugged and conversed for a while longer. They embraced for a few minutes. Williams felt that McQueen was the answer to the prayers he had sent to his brother before making his trip. McQueen was the sign he asked for.

Their story does not end there…

Williams thought of ways in which he could show his appreciation to McQueen. After a week, the encounter still gave Williams chills, and he felt he had to do something for McQueen.

Two weeks had now passed and Williams passed through Hancock County once again. This time, his family was along for the journey. Just like the last time he came through the area, a trooper pulled behind him and started a traffic stop.

The two realized they were once again brought together and talked as friends and joked around. McQueen did not issue a citation this time either but advised Williams to calibrate his speedometer.

Williams felt he really had to do something for the trooper now. Twice they had an encounter and twice McQueen showed compassion and caring. After learning McQueen was a fan of Florida State, the perfect idea came to mind.

Williams decided he would gift McQueen with season tickets for Seminole football. After calling the Mississippi Highway Patrol and talking to McQueen’s colleagues, a plan was set to surprise McQueen with his gift.

Many troopers, co-workers and superiors were present to witness the exchange between the two. McQueen was in disbelief after realizing the gift was season tickets. The two once again embraced in a moment that would melt the coldest heart.

Williams felt that his encounter with McQueen was a gift from his brother, an answered prayer. He felt his brother knew the pain he was feeling and helped him overcome a depression that could have gone horribly, but was saved from it by “divine intervention”.

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