(Seth Gottfried)
JUSTICE? Bus driver Ophadell Williams reacts yesterday in Bronx Supreme Court to the not-guilty verdict in the Bronx crash (inset) that killed 15. (
)
Their lives are collectively worth a lousy $500.
Chinatown casino-bus driver Ophadell Williams skated yesterday on manslaughter charges and will only have to pay a small fine for the horrific Bronx wreck that killed 15 people.
The stunning verdict in Bronx Supreme Court convicted Williams, 42, of only one minor count of aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He had faced up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the March 2011 tragedy.
“He’s still responsible for the crash since he was the driver,” said a shocked Florence Wong, whose 76-year-old father, Don Lee, was killed in the crash. “He’s still responsible for the lives.”
A man who lost an in-law in the crash added, “Obviously, 15 lives were lost and no one’s going to pay criminally. It’s an outrage.”
As the “not guilty” verdicts were being rattled off, Williams — who appeared pensive at the start of the proceeding — loosened his tightly squeezed hands.
When lawyer Patrick Bruno told him he was going home, Williams’ eyes welled up with tears as he whispered, “Thank you.”
In addition to the $500 fine, which equates to about $33 per person killed, Judge Troy Webber sentenced Williams to 30 days behind bars for the sole conviction — time he has already served. Williams has spent 15 months in jail awaiting trial.
Williams was then led into a holding room without his handcuffs. He emerged about 10 minutes later and hopped into a waiting car, saying only “thank you” to the amassed media waiting outside the courthouse.
He later returned to his home in Brooklyn and hugged his waiting family.
The jurors quickly dispersed following the conclusion of the trial, in which deliberations began on Nov. 27.
“It was a very difficult decision to make,” said a juror who declined to identify herself.
Williams claimed that he lost control of the bus, heading into the city from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on March 12, 2011, after a tractor-trailer cut him off.
The top half of the bus was sheared open like a can of sardines after it went on its side and struck a pole by the roadway.
The bus was zooming along at its maximum speed of 78 mph in a 50-mph zone, the National Transportation Safety Board determined.
Bruno said his client felt horrible about the tragedy but painted him as a victim, as well.
“He felt he was being made a martyr, the fall guy for a terrible accident,” the lawyer said.
Prosecutors had argued that Williams was so recklessly tired and sleep-deprived that he might as well have been drunk.
The bus’ “black box” indicated Williams never hit the brakes, and other evidence ruled out contact with another vehicle.
“We believe that our case was compelling; nevertheless we accept the decision of the jury,” said DA Robert Johnson in a statement.
After the trial’s conclusion, dejected Assistant DA Gary Weil said, “The disappointment is the fact we spent time on the case. We believed we had a case, and the jury didn’t see it that way.”
Williams, an ex-con who has served time for manslaughter, tested clean for drugs and alcohol after the crash of his World Wide Travel bus.
He had lost his license after racking up unpaid summonses under his middle name, Eric, and then reapplying for his commercial license using his first name.
Additional reporting by Erin Calabrese, Liz Sadler and Joe Tacopino