CANTON, Ohio — A mother is preparing to say goodbye to her 14-year-old son after a tragedy in Canton.
Malachi Nichols-Williams was riding on the outside of a church van earlier this month when he was thrown off and killed. The pastor who was driving is now facing felony charges.
RELATED: Canton Twp. pastor faces vehicular homicide, child endangerment charges
When his mother, Pamela Nichols, faced the reality that her son Malachi was gone, she made a selfless decision to have his organs donated.
Nichols said her son was a kid who enjoyed helping others and passed out Bibles to those who needed them. She feels donating his organs is a way to keep his memory alive.
"I know he's not gone, so if he can help somebody else to live, I would love that," Nichols said.
She said her son was particularly close to his pastor, 26-year-old Rushon Patterson II, who is now facing felony charges of child endangerment and vehicular homicide in connection to Nichols-Williams's death.
"I think that's too severe of a charge, the homicide part of it. I don't agree with that," Nichols said.
However, Nichols is calling for the pastor to be held accountable for what happened to her son the evening of Sept. 6.
She said Patterson was driving children from Alive Now Kidz Church to their Canton homes in a church van. Police said at some point, Patterson allowed Nichols-Williams to ride on the outside of the van, not far from his home off Alan Page Drive.
"He was ejected off of the van, off the side of the van," Nichols said.
Her son suffered a skull fracture, a severe brain injury and died a few days later, leaving her to wonder how this could happen.
"That was just the wrong choice to even allow him to do that," Nichols said.
Patterson's case was transferred from the Canton Municipal Court to the Stark County Common Pleas Court, where it is pending a grand jury. Court officials said the pastor is out on bond with an ankle monitor and is under house arrest.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses.
Nichols wanted to share a message to prevent the possibility of similar future tragedies.
"Don't let your kids jump on cars. It's not safe. It's just not safe," Nichols said.
