Treat Williams’ cause of death revealed as Vermont man is charged in fatal crash

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Treat Williams' cause of death has been revealed by the Vermont Police, with a driver now being cited for "grossly negligent operation with death".

Ryan Koss, 35, struck the 71-year-old Everwood actor with his SUV while Williams was riding his motorcycle in Dorset, Vermont back in June, according to a police report.

The New York Post reports that Williams was driving his bike through Vermont Route 30 in Dorset before he was thrown from the vehicle by Koss's SUV as the 35-year-old attempted to turn his 2008 Honda Element into a parking lot.

The Vermont State Police report said of the incident: "Williams was unable to avoid a collision and was thrown from his motorcycle."

Williams, who was wearing a helmet, was subsequently airlifted to Albany Medical Center in New York, but the doctors there were unable to save him.

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The star was thrown from his motorcycle in the crash. Credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Getty

The New York Medical Examiner has now revealed that the Hollywood star's cause of death was severe trauma and blood loss as a result of the crash.

On Tuesday (August 1), Bennington County State’s Attorney Erica Marthage requested Vermont State Police issue the citation against Koss, who voluntarily met state troopers at the Shaftsbury Barracks, where he was processed, photographed, and released. He is scheduled to be arraigned on September 25. Koss was not injured in the crash.

Williams rose to fame with his turn as George Berger in the anti-war comedy-drama musical Hair in 1979, having previously landed a small part in British war classic The Eagle Has Landed three years before. For his performance as Berger in Hair, Williams received his first Golden Globe nomination, in 1980. Williams had starred as Danny Zuko in the lead role of Grease on Broadway for three years prior to making his name in Hollywood.

The Everwood star would receive his second Golden Globe nomination for his role in Sidney Lumet's 1981 Neo-noir crime drama Prince Of The City, in which he portrayed Daniel Ciello, an idealistic NYPD officer who chooses to expose corruption in the police force.

When Empire Magazine produced a retrospective review of Prince Of The City in 2000, Simon Braud wrote: "It's doubtful whether a better performance was committed to celluloid in 1981 than Treat Williams' portrayal of the tortured Danny Ciello. In a staggering feat of acting prowess, Williams essays a fundamentally good, yet deeply flawed, human being disintegrating under intolerable pressure with rare courage and intensity."

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The star died at the age of 71 after the accident. Credit: Cindy Ord / Getty

A third Golden Globe nomination came Williams' way for his performance as Stanley Kowalski in a 1984 TV adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 1996, a first Primetime Emmy nomination came Williams' way for his work on HBO made-for-television film The Late Shift, where he portrayed Creative Artists Agency co-founder Michael Ovitz.

Between 2002-2006, Williams starred as Dr. Andy Brown on the drama series Everwood, for which he received Satellite, Screen Actors Guild, and Teen Choice Award nominations.

Featured Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty