Guilty plea in actor’s death

BENNINGTON, VT. •Avermont man on Friday pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of negligent driving causing death in the June crash that killed actor Treat Williams.

Ryan Koss, 35, who knew Williams, was given a oneyear deferred sentence and as part of his probation will have his driving licence revoked for a year and must complete a community restorative justice program on the misdemeanour charge.

Koss was turning left into a parking lot in a Honda SUV on June 12 when he collided with Williams’s oncoming motorcycle 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, N.Y., where he was pronounced dead, police said.

In the emotional hearing on Friday, Koss apologized and offered condolences to Williams’s family and fans. The managing creative director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont knew Williams for years as a member of the tight-knit community, as well as a fellow theatre member, and considered him a friend.

“I’m here to apologize and take responsibility for this tragic accident,” he told the court.

Williams’s son Gill, 32, wore his father’s jacket and spoke directly to Koss, whom he had met before the crash. The family did not want to press charges or have Koss go to prison, he said.

“I do forgive you, and I hope that 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.”

Williams’s nearly 50-year career included starring roles in the TV series Everwood and the movie Hair.