Williamsburg holds vigil for injured motorcyclist

In an era where many of us may not even really know our neighbors, people in the town of Williamsburg have spent all week trying to rally behind one of their own.

On Sunday night, Justin Rowe, 34, a lifelong resident of Williamsburg, was injured in a crash on Black Diamond Road, south of Oxford in Johnson County.

Responders flew Rowe to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.  A report from the Iowa State Patrol says Rowe "failed to negotiate a curve" and was thrown from his Harley-Davidson.

As news of the crash spread through the social circles of Williamsburg, Amy Kaiser took the devastating news and led it to social media, creating a Facebook page: "Candlelight Vigil From Your Homes For Justin Rowe..."

"I guess I feel if I was going through this in my family, I'd want the support and I'd want them to feel the support from that community," said Kaiser, who now lives in Peosta but grew up in Williamsburg.

The initial push of the Facebook page was for people to support the family of Justin Rowe, and his wife Sarah, by lighting candles at night throughout the city.  That happened in both homes and businesses.

Yet by Thursday, the movement took the vigil from the virtual world of Facebook to the real world of the city park in the heart of Williamsburg.

Kaiser joined about 100 others, on Thursday night, for a formal vigil.

"Justin never had a bad thing to say about anyone in high school," said Kristy Schropp, who graduated with Rowe in the Class of 1995 at Williamsburg High School.  "It's great to get to know all these people who know the Rowe family and have come together to support him."

Friends and family say that Justin and Sarah Rowe are just two weeks from marking their second anniversary and that the couple has no children.  Rowe is from a family of five brothers and one sister, meaning that people all throughout this town of 2,600 know of the family.

While getting to know their neighbors is not as paramount as in decades past, the real childhood neighbors of Justin Rowe were there on Thursday night, candles in hand and prayers in heart.

Sarah Dietze said she lived next door to the Rowe family from when she was 2 until she was 17.  "He's a good friend to everybody and has touched a lot of lives to give them hope and strength.  We're here pulling for them and if they need anything, we're pulling for them."