The daughter of Hank Williams Jr.—27-year-old Katherine Williams-Dunning—died in a car accident Saturday night (6-13) on Highway 79 near West Antioch Road northeast of Paris, Tennessee. Williams-Dunning was driving a 2007 Chevy Tahoe southbound towing a boat when it crossed the dividing median of Highway 79 and stared rolling over, crossing into the northbound lanes according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The accident occurred around 7:44 p.m. Saturday evening. Katherine Williams-Dunning’s was pronounced dead on the scene. Her husband, 29-year-old Tyler J. Dunning, was also injured in the accident, and was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center in unknown condition. “This is an active investigation and more details will be made available later,” Lt. Brad Wilbanks of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said in a statement.
Katherine Williams-Dunning was the daughter of Hank Williams Jr.’s and his third wife Mary Jane Thomas. She was also the sister of performer Sam Williams, and half sister of performers Holly Williams, Hilary Williams from Hank Jr.’s second wife Becky White, and Hank Williams III from Hank Jr.’s first wife Gwen Yeargain.
Katherine Williams-Dunning was from Paris, TN, and lived in nearby Springville. She and Tyler J. Dunning have two children, a son Beau and daughter Audrey Jane.
Williams-Dunning was also the owner of the clothing company called Weston Jane that she set up to help support herself as a mother, and other mothers. “Being a mom is hard, like really hard,” Katherine said about the business. “There is mom guilt, mom shaming and lets be real, most days we feel like we are failing. With so many people tearing mom’s down, I created Weston Jane as a way to build moms up. Our items are all either handmade or printed by another mom.”
This is not the first time tragedy has struck the Williams family. Both Hilary and Holly Williams were severely injured in an auto accident in 2006, with Hilary going into cardiac arrest and having to be flown by helicopter to the hospital.