Ryan Koss was charged with grossly negligent operation with death resulting.
The driver who was charged in the fatal motorcycle accident that killed actor Treat Williams has spoken out.
Ryan Koss released a statement via his attorney, Ian Carleton, days after Vermont State Police announced he'd been charged with grossly negligent operation with death resulting after the June 12 crash.
"I am devastated by Mr. Williams’s tragic passing," Koss said in his statement, obtained by US Weekly. "I have known Treat for years, both as a member of this tight-knit community and fellow theater maker. I considered him a friend. I know his family feels his sudden loss even more deeply than I do, and I offer my sincerest condolences to them."
According to Manchester Journal, Koss is the managing creative director of Dorset Theatre Festival, an event Williams has been involved with in the past.
Koss voluntarily met with troopers last week, at which time he was processed on the charge and released. He is due to appear for arraignment on Sept. 25.
On June 12, Koss, 35, was driving the Honda Element SUV that turned into the path of Williams' motorcycle. VSP previously said that they believed Koss attempted to drive into a parking lot, stopping and signaling a left turn, before turning into the path of Williams' motorcycle.
Williams suffered critical injuries after the crash and was subsequently pronounced dead at Albany Medical Center. The Medical Examiner's Office in New York has since determined that Williams died of severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the accident. He was 71.
Williams' agent of 15 years, Barry McPherson, released the news of the actor's death in a statement to People on the day of the accident.
"He was killed this afternoon. He was making a left or a right [and] a car cut him off. I'm just devastated. He was the nicest guy. He was so talented," McPherson said. "He was an actor's actor. Filmmakers loved him. He's been the heart of Hollywood since the late 1970s. He was really proud of his performance this year. He's been so happy with the work that I got him. He's had a balanced career."
Afterward, Matt Rapphahn, who witnessed the crash, told ET that he saw Williams "flying over the hood of the car and then" landing on the ground.
A week later, the actor's loved ones "honored his memory during an intimate funeral" in Vermont, with McPherson telling ET, "It was beautiful and filled with love."
Williams' 24-year-old daughter, Ellie, paid homage to her late father one month after the actor died. She remembered the Hair and Everwood star as a devoted father who gave her "the best life imaginable."
"I have never experienced this kind of grief before, so it’s hard to put my thoughts into words, but I’ll try my best for now. I have been home with my family in Vermont for a month now, but it feels like just yesterday that I frantically got on a plane home after I got that phone call," she explained in her caption.
"It feels like he’s just away filming. However, I keep forgetting that he’s not coming home this time. This love is a once-in-a-lifetime love. A father's incomprehensible love for his daughter, and a daughter's boundless love and complete admiration for her father."
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