At just 9 years old, India Williams was ready to sit in the driver’s seat of a plane. She was just 7 years old, she became the victim of gun violence.
Beyond the Bullet: The Cost of Gun Violence in Detroit
She was shot by stray gunfire while she was innocently riding her bike and is now in wheel chair. Now, it has not stopped her from making any of her dreams come true.
Sunday morning, she got a chance to fly a glider plane after she was recently featured on Beyond The Bullet, a digital exclusive on WXYZ.com.
The happy-spirited girl with big bright eyes believes one day she will walk again.
Her story touched the Friends of Detroit City Airport and the Tuskegee Airmen, so they decided to help her soar to new heights.
“When I saw the young lady there, it just touched me,” said Kenneth Rucker from Friends of Detroit City Airport. “It moved me and I called her mom up.”
Through a program that helps the youth learn about aviation, Rucker says the sky is the limit for little India.
“She could become a pilot, be it UAV which is unmanned area vehicles, or a pilot be it commercial, or in the military,” said Rucker. “Or the other one is be in air traffic control so with that in mind, we like to start them young.”
With new wings, India knows she can pilot her own life in any new direction she wants to.
