Driver ‘considers Treat Williams a friend’ and says crash charges not warranted
5 August 2023, 14:54
The 71-year-old actor was killed in a motorbike accident in June.
A driver accused of causing the crash that killed Treat Williams has said he knew the actor and considered him a friend, but denied wrongdoing and said charges against him are not warranted.
Ryan Koss, the managing creative director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont, said he had known Williams for years as a member of the tight-knit community, as well as being a fellow theatre member.
He said he was devastated by Williams’ death and offered his “sincerest condolences” to the actor’s family.
“I considered him a friend,” Koss said.
Koss, 35, of Dorset, issued a statement on Friday three days after being issued a citation for grossly negligent operation causing death.
He was ordered to appear in court in September to be formally charged.
A Vermont State Police investigation concluded Koss’ vehicle pulled in front of Williams’ motorcycle on June 12 in Dorset, but Koss said he is “confident the facts will show I obeyed all relevant traffic laws, and the state’s charges are unwarranted”.
Williams, 71, of Manchester Center, was pronounced dead at Albany Medical Centre in New York later that day.
Richard “Treat” Williams latterly starred in the TV series Everwood, and is perhaps most famous for his starring role in the movie Hair.
He appeared in more than 120 TV and film roles, including the movies The Eagle Has Landed, Prince of The City, Once Upon A Time in America, Deep Rising and Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead.
