Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial of a casino bus driver who crashed in the Bronx, killing 15 passengers.
The verdict in the trial of Ophadell Williams was reached around 3:40 p.m. today, but Judge Troy Webber had the sheet sealed because Juror No.9 needed to leave in order to attend a medical appointment.
The verdict will be unsealed and read on Friday.
The trial began in September and the Bronx District Attorney’s office said that because of the considerable length that this particular case has gone on for, it wanted to be as accommodating as possible to jurors’ needs.
Williams, 42, was driving a World Wide Travel bus on the morning of March 12, 2011 when it crashed on I-95 and killed 15 passengers who were returning from a trip to the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
Williams, who allegedly had only a few hours of sleep and was speeding prior to the crash, faces manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges.
“He knew the risk of driving while fatigued, and he ignored it,” Bronx assistant DA Gary Weil said during the trial’s openings.
“His sleep deprivation was so severe it affected his reflexes as if he were driving while intoxicated.”
An ex-con with a history of driving offenses on his record, Williams tested clean for drugs and alcohol after the accident and his lawyer Patrick Bruno denied any sort of wrongdoing on his client’s part.
“I see no criminality here,” Bruno said when the trial began. “I look forward to trying the case and walking out of the front door with my client.”