Driver in Crash That Killed Treat Williams Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charge

The driver involved in the crash that killed Everwood star Treat Williams in Vermont in June 2023 pleaded guilty on Friday to a reduced charge of negligent driving with death resulting.

Ryan Koss, that driver, was given a one-year deferred sentence, had his license revoked for one year, and will be required to complete a community restorative justice program as a result of that misdemeanor, according to The Associated Press.

Koss, 35, who knew Williams and considered him a friend, was turning a Honda SUV into a parking lot in Dorset, Vermont, on June 12 when his car collided with Williams’ oncoming motorcycle, per local police. Williams, 71, was wearing a helmet but suffered critical injuries and was pronounced dead after getting airlifted to Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York.

Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage said that Koss — who works as the managing creative director at the Dorset Theatre Festival — called Williams’ wife to report what happened and that he has always taken responsibility for the crash.

Had Koss been convicted of the original charge of gross negligent operation with death resulting — a charge to which Koss pleaded not guilty — he could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

John Paul Filo/CBS

In court on Friday, Koss apologized to Williams’ family and fans. Gill Williams, Treat’s son, attended the hearing on Friday, but Pam Williams, the late actor’s wife, and Ellie Williams, his daughter, did not attend and instead sent in statements.

“I do forgive you, and I hope that you forgive yourself,” Gill told Koss in court on Friday. “I really wish you hadn’t killed my father. I really had to say that.”

In a statement, Pam wrote, “Our lives will never be the same, our family has been torn apart and there is a huge hole that can’t possibly be filled.”

And in hers, Erin wrote, “I will never get to feel my father’s hug again, be able to get his advice again, introduce him to my future husband, have him walk me down the aisle, introduce him to my babies, and have him cry when I name my first son after him.”

Alongside his starring part in Everwood, Williams was known for his roles in the TV show Chesapeake Shores and the films Hair and 1941. He had a posthumous appearance in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.