Bus driver Ophadell Williams said not a not moment passes without sad thoughts about last year’s horrific crash that killed 15 passengers returning from a gambling jaunt.
William emerged from his Brooklyn home this morning and spoke after being acquitted Friday on manslaughter charges.
“I feel sorry every day,” Williams told The Post. “This is my first day out of that house, since I have been home.”
The soft-spoken Williams donned a tan suit and strolled through his Brownsville neighborhood, sharing handshakes and hugs with neighbors who haven’t seen him in more than a year.
“I’m home, you know, I’m free,” the bus driver added.
Williams said he greatly appreciated the support from family, friends, neighbors and strangers throughout the trial.
“Just the amount of prayers, how many people prayed, all over the world, not just in New York City,” he said.
The 41-year-old Williams had faced up 15 years in prison for 54 criminal counts, emerging from the March 12, 2011 tragedy.
A Bronx jury cleared Williams of any criminal wrongdoing, except for driving without a valid license. He was fined $500.
“The anticipation, believe me, it’s overwhelming — sometimes I can’t even breathe,” Williams said about his final days in jail and court before last week’s verdict.
The NTSB ruled that Williams was driving 78 mph in a 50 mph zone on I-95 on virtually no sleep. His World Wide Tours bus tours was taking passengers from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut back to Manhattan Chinatown.
Williams wasn’t sure what his next job would be. He reminisced how much he enjoyed being a bus driver.
“I loved my job. I really loved it,” Williams said. “It was a wonderful job.”
He’s just happy not waking up inside Rikers Island anymore.
“It is great [to be home],” he said. “I mean, that Rikers Island was not made for humans.”
He called the city’s biggest lockup “crazy” and “daunting.”
Additional reporting by David K. Li