Williams reacts during the reading of the verdicts. (Pool photo)
A Chinatown bus driver was cleared of all counts of manslaughter for his role in a horrific crash that killed 15 passengers in The Bronx last year.
This morning’s stunning verdict found Ophadell Williams guilty of only one minor count of aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, after he’d been facing up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Florence Wong, whose 76-year-old father Don Lee was killed in the wreckage, was outraged by the verdict.
“I don’t like the jury’s decision,” she said afterward. “He’s still responsible for the crash since he was the driver. He’s still responsible for the lives.”
Another 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 read on the other 53 counts he had faced, including criminally negligent homicide and assault, Williams’ face began to relax as he sat inside the Bronx Criminal Court room.
His hands, which had been squeezed together tightly, loosened and he started rubbing his head. He then placed his palms together in a prayer-like motion and pressed them to his lips.
At one point, he also lifted his head and gazed upward at the ceiling.
Williams’ wife, Holly, was also emotional, lowering her head and chin against her chest before she started crying.
“I would suggest that you sentence my client to time served,” attorney, Patrick Bruno, told Judge Troy Webber, referring to the conviction on aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.
“As I’m sure you’re fully aware, he has been in custody now in excess of 15 months. Which surpasses the potential sentence for that crime.”
Webber then sentenced Williams to 30 days, the equivalent of time already served, and imposed a $500 fine, payable on or before March 29.
Williams, 42, was then led into a holding room without handcuffs on.
He emerged about 10 minutes later and jumped into a waiting car, and said only “Thank you,” to the amassed media waiting outside the court.
His lawyer said Bruno felt horrible about the tragedy.
“But on the other hand, he felt he was being made a martyr, the fall guy for a terrible accident,” the lawyer said.
Bruno also said that Williams was overwhelmed when he told his client, “You’re going home,” after the not guilty verdicts were rattled off.
Williams got teary-eyed and then turned to him to say, “Thank you,” Bruno said.
At some point, in private, Williams also said, “Thank you so much. I knew they would do the right thing,” Bruno added
The jurors quickly dispersed following the trial’s conclusion and none seemed willing to discuss the case.
“It was a very difficult decision to make,” said one woman.
Williams claimed that he lost control of the bus, which was headed into the city from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on March 12, 2011, after a tractor-trailer cut him off.
The top of the bus was sheared open after it struck a pole on the side of the roadway — killing 15 and injuring 18 others.
The bus was zooming along at its maximum speed of 78 mph, investigators with the national Transportation Safety Board found.
Williams hit that mark 45 seconds before the deadly crash on a portion of highway where the speed limit is 50 mph.
Prosecutors insisted Williams was so recklessly tired and sleep deprived that he might as well have been drunk.
Williams — an ex-con with a checkered driving record who once served time for manslaughter — tested clean for drugs and alcohol after the crash of his World Wide Travel bus.
The Brooklyn-based company provides service between Manhattan and the Connecticut casino.
Williams previously had his license suspended for allegedly using aliases when applying for his commercial driver’s license.
His lawyer claimed that Williams had racked up several summonses when he was 16 under his middle name, Eric, but applied for his commercial license under his first name, Ophadell.
Two weeks after the horrific smash-up, 11 drivers were busted for getting their commercial licenses using phony identification — part of a sweeping state probe launched by Gov. Cuomo in response to the accident.
Additional reporting by Erin Calabrese