The actor Treat Williams’ family has made their first public statements since his sudden and tragic death.
Williams died at age 71 after he and driver Ryan Koss’s car crashed in Vermont.
The actor’s son, Gill Williams, told the judge at a hearing on Friday, “I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself.”
“Thank you so much for not killing my dad.” “I needed to say that.”
He talked about how much his father meant to his family while wearing his father’s jacket.
“This shouldn’t have happened because of someone’s carelessness,” he said.
Pam, Williams’ wife, and Ellie, Williams’ daughter, did not go to the hearing but wrote statements that were read out loud in court.
Pam’s statement said, “Our lives will never be the same, our family has been torn apart, and there is a huge hole that can’t be filled.”
She said that she hoped to forgive Koss one day in her statement.
“I will never get to feel my dad’s hug again, ask for his advice again, meet my future husband, have him walk me down the aisle, meet my babies, or have him cry when I name my first son after him,” she wrote.
Koss pleaded guilty and said that he killed Williams by hitting his motorcycle with his SUV.
The accident was written up by the Vermont State Police.
“The crash occurred at about 4:53 pm Monday on Vermont Route 30 just north of Morse Hill Road when a southbound 2008 Honda Element attempted to turn left into a parking lot.”
“Initial investigation indicates the Element stopped, signaled a left turn, and then turned into the path of a northbound 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle operated by Williams.”
Williams was severely hurt when he was thrown off the bike.
Then he was taken to Albany Medical Center in New York, but there they said he was dead.
As a result of the accident, Koss called Williams’ wife and admitted fault for what happened.
In a court in Vermont on Friday, Koss said he was guilty.
He was given a one-year deferred sentence, had his license taken away, and was asked to take part in a community restorative justice program.
Koss told the judge, “I’m here to say sorry and take responsibility for this terrible accident.”
At first, Koss pleaded not guilty, which could have led to 15 years in prison.