Cody Williams planned to build a house on his grandfather's land in Kings Valley because the woodsy spread was the perfect place to raise his 9-month-old son.

"There's a creek there," said Williams' mother, Charlotte Williams. "His son looks just like him." The 26-year-old Philomath High School graduate had so much to look forward to, she added.

Monday morning, Cody Williams died in a single-car crash on Highway 223, commonly known as the Kings Valley Highway. About 6 a.m., Benton County Sheriff's deputies responded to investigate the crash at milepost 25, near Kings Valley.

Rescue workers found Williams dead in a Ford pickup owned by his employer. Initial investigation revealed that Williams apparently lost control of the pickup, which had rolled into a ditch and trees. The highway was closed for at least two hours during the investigation.

Sheriff Diana Simpson said alcohol or drugs are not believed to have been involved in the crash.

Charlotte Williams said her son was heading to work.

Williams was raised by a single mother and grew up with his older sister, Nicki Williams Carroll, on the outskirts of Philomath. His grandfather, Dick Spinney, owned a trucking company and taught him about rigs and heavy machinery.

While he was in high school, Williams began work at Beggs Tire & Wheel in Philomath, where he was employed for about nine years. About two years ago, he switched jobs to work as a heavy equipment operator with Rick Franklin Corporation of Lebanon.

Williams lived with his girlfriend, Brandy Hlavinka, and their son, Braydon Williams, in a home on Dick Spinney's land in the vicinity of 24800 Maxfield Creek Road in Kings Valley.

The two graduated high school in 2001, but never hung out as teens. About two years ago, they reconnected.

"The joke was he kept on harassing me until I let him take me out to dinner," Hlavinka said. She remembered how Williams could make anybody laugh.

"I still can't believe he's gone. He was a great father," Hlavinka said Monday.

Williams' grandmother, Pat Spinney, said her grandson was immensely proud of his infant son. "He was a very good, kind-hearted young man. He would help anybody. He was a hard worker."

Williams loved the outdoors so Kings Valley was like a slice of heaven, his mother said.

"He wanted to stay here," said Charlotte Williams. "He didn't want to go anywhere else to live."

A fund to help Hlavinka and Braydon Williams has been set up at Citizens Bank in Philomath. Donations can be made at any Citizens Bank.