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BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont man pleaded guilty Friday to a reduced charge of negligent driving resulting in death in June. Accident that killed actor Treat Williams.
Ryan Koss, 35, who knew Williams, was given a one-year deferred sentence and, as part of his probation, will have his driver’s license revoked for one year and must complete a community-based restorative justice program for the charge. of misdemeanor.
Koss was turning left in a parking lot in a Honda van on June 12 when he collided with Williams’ motorcycle coming from the opposite direction in Dorset, police said. Williams, 71, of Manchester Center, who was wearing a helmet, suffered critical injuries and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
After the crash, Koss called Williams’ wife to tell her what happened, said Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage, who said Koss from the beginning took responsibility for the crash.
At Friday’s emotional hearing, Koss apologized and offered his condolences to Williams’ family and fans. The managing creative director of the Dorset Theater Festival in Vermont had known Williams for years as a member of a close-knit community, as well as a member of the theatre, and I considered him a friend.
“I am here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident,” he told the court.
Williams’ son Gill, 32, was wearing his father’s jacket and spoke directly to Koss, whom he had met before the accident. The family did not want to press charges or have Koss go to prison, he said.
“I forgive you and I hope you forgive yourself,” he said. But he also added that “I really wish you hadn’t killed my father. “I really had to say that.”
Gill Williams said her father was “everything” to her family and an extraordinary person who lived life to the fullest, and now it is difficult to know how to move forward.
His father had given him the motorcycle the day before the accident and he was “the safest person in the world,” Gill Williams said.
“It’s very difficult for this to happen because of someone’s negligence,” he said, urging people to take driving much more seriously and be careful on motorcycles. Statements from Williams’ wife, Pam, and her daughter, who did not attend the court hearing, were read aloud.
Pam Williams said in her statement that it was a tragic accident and that she hopes Koss can forgive himself.
“Our lives will never be the same, our family has been torn apart and there is a huge void that cannot be filled,” Pam Williams wrote in her statement.
Her daughter Ellie Williams wrote in her statement that she was too angry and hurt right now to forgive Koss, but hopes she will in the future.
“I will never feel my father’s hug again; “I’ll be able to get your advice again, introduce you to my future husband, have you walk me down the aisle, introduce you to my babies, and have you cry when I name my first child after you,” one victim advocate said when reading it. statement.
Koss originally pleaded not guilty to one felony count of grossly negligent operation resulting in death. If he had been convicted of that charge, he could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Richard Treat Williams’ nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the television series “Everwood” and the film “Hair.” He appeared in more than 120 film and television roles, including the films “The Eagle Has Landed,” “Prince of the City” and “Once Upon a Time in America.”