Treat Williams' daughter posts 'we're home dad' as family gathers
Treat Williams’ daughter posts ‘we’re home dad’ onto Instagram as family gathers at $1m Vermont estate after his fatal motorcycle accident
- Treat Williams, 71, died on Monday after his motorcycle smashed into an SUV which was turning left into a parking lot by Long Trail Auto near Dorset
- He was conscious after the crash thrown, answering questions from paramedics before he was airlifted to a New York hospital, where he was pronounced dead
- His daughter Ellie Williams, 25, shared a photo from the family home on Wednesday and has described her ‘terrible heartbreak’ in the wake of his death
Actor Treat Williams’ daughter has shared a heartbreaking post on Instagram as the family gathered at their $1million Vermont estate following his fatal motorcycle accident.
Hair star Williams, 71, died on Monday after his motorcycle smashed into an SUV which was turning left into a parking lot by Long Trail Auto near Dorset.
His daughter Ellie Williams, 25, shared a picture from the family’s Vermont home on Wednesday, showing her father’s beloved dog Woody, with text overlaid that simply read: ‘We’re home, dad.’
Williams was conscious and alert after being thrown to the pavement, answering questions from paramedics before he was airlifted to Albany Medical Center in New York, where he was pronounced dead.
Ellie – who is the only daughter of the Golden Globe nominated star and his wife Pam Van Sant – described her ‘terrible heartbreak’ in the wake of his death.
Treat Williams’ daughter has shared a post on Instagram which said ‘we’re home, dad’ as the family gathered at their $1million Vermont estate following his fatal motorcycle accident
The actor, 71, died on Monday after his motorcycle smashed into an SUV which was turning left into a parking lot by Long Trail Auto near Dorset
His daughter Ellie Williams, 25, shared a photo from the family home on Wednesday and has described her ‘terrible heartbreak’ in the wake of his death
Ellie also shared a link to a New York Times article about her father with her followers and described it as ‘wonderful’.
On Tuesday she shared a grief-stricken message alongside an old picture of her father and a close-up of his name emblazoned on a bomber jacket.
‘This is a pain I have never felt. I am absolutely shattered,’ she wrote.
‘Thank you to everyone who has sent messages and kept our family in your hearts during this terrible heartbreak.’
Police said Treat was ‘unable to avoid a collision’ with a 2008 Honda Element driven by Ryan Koss, 35.
A witness who saw the crash said Treat was conscious after being thrown from his motorcycle.
‘He was totally alert, answering questions,’ said Matt Rapphahn, the owner of Long Trail Auto on Route 30, adjacent to the crash site.
Rapphahn, 29, was standing outside his shop when the crash took place right in front of him.
‘He was totally laid out, and they were asking him basic questions, like ”do you know where you are,” and ”what’s your wife’s name,” that kind of stuff,’ he recalled.
‘And he was responsive. He seemed like he was awake the whole time because, obviously, when they had to move him, you could see he was in a great deal of pain. They loaded him up into the ambulance and drove off.
‘Honestly, I was pretty hopeful that he was going to pull through.’
He said Treat was a regular customer – a classic car and motorcycle enthusiast who’d bring his vehicles in for repairs and restoration work.
‘He stopped into the shop just a few weeks ago and made some appointments for his vehicles,’ Rapphahn said.
‘He pulled up here in his old Apache pickup truck, a blue ’57 Chevy. We were talking about actors going on strike right now, and he seemed kind of grumpy about it. He wanted to get back to work acting.’
‘We talked about airplanes too because he was an airplane enthusiast,’ he added.
‘I’d run into him in town all the time,’ he said. ‘He’d share some stories. He had such a good laugh. He was a great guy, super nice. This was his home. This was his community.’
He said Treat was also exceptionally generous and once wrote a check to repair the home of one of Matt’s mechanic friends after a fire.
‘People around here have been using that old cliché all day – that for somebody who is Hollywood famous, he was totally chill,’ he said.
Vermont State Police detectives confirmed driver Koss was not drunk at the time of the horror crash.
Authorities gave an update to press on Tuesday as the force continues to investigate what happened.
Pictured: Ryan Koss, 35, was driving his Honda Element SUV on Route 30 and was turning into the auto shop parking lot when he collided with Williams
Koss had an appointment at the autobody shop to bring his SUV to get a state inspection sticker
Ellie, pictured with her father in April, is the only daughter of the Golden Globe nominated star and his wife Pam Van Sant
She described her ‘heartbreak’ to her Instagram followers on Tuesday in the wake of her father’s death, and thanked people who had sent her messages of support
Koss’ car had major damage to the front end passenger side, while William’s 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle (pictured) had ‘front-end damage’
Lieutenant Steven Coote said investigators have not yet made ‘a formal determination’ on who is to blame for the crash, according to the Boston Globe.
He added that Koss, who is from Pownal in the south-western corner of Vermont, was screened and cops ‘determined there wasn’t any evidence of impairment’.
The driver was also ‘checked by medical personnel at the scene for minor injuries’, and he did not need hospital treatment.
Coote added that detectives have ‘utilized tools and technology’ including a drone flight, as well as ‘old-fashioned crash investigation stuff’ like on-scene photographs in the investigation.
He told reporters he could not provide an ‘exact timeframe’ for when the probe is likely to conclude, but he hopes ‘to have some more answers soon’.
Following the fatal crash, Koss’ car had major damage to the front end passenger side, while Treat’s 1986 Honda VT700c motorcycle had ‘front-end damage’.
The Everwood actor had been riding his $3,500 bike when he was hit by Koss’ vehicle as it cut across the northbound lane of Route 30 in the Morse Hill Road area of Dorset, south-west Vermont.
He was wearing a helmet at the time and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being rushed to hospital via helicopter, where he was pronounced dead.
Treat and Koss in all likelihood knew each other, as Koss works at the theater where Williams performed American Buffalo in 2017.
It is currently not known when Treat’s funeral will take place.
Treat, best known for his roles in Everwood and Hair, was enjoying his weekend mowing the lawn at his $1million Vermont home just hours before the tragedy.
He was married to actress Van Sant, and together they had two children, Gille and Ellie – and often shared his idyllic country life for his fans on social media.
Treat was born 1951 in Rowayton, Connecticut, and kickstarted his professional acting career in his 20s after graduating from Franklin and Marshall College.
He shot to fame after his debut role in the thriller Deadly Hero in 1975. He also performed in 1976’s The Ritz and The Eagle Has Landed.
In 1979, he starred as George Berger in the film Hair, which was based on the Broadway musical.
Treat pictured with his children Gil and Ellie on set of White Collar in Manhattan in May 2012
Treat Williams pictured with his wife Pam Van Sant and their beloved dog Woody
In a social media post hours before the fatal crash, Williams shared a snap of his land with the caption: ‘Mowing today. Wish I could bottle the scent’
In 1979, Treat starred as George Berger in the film Hair, which was based on the Broadway musical
It was the role which earned him his first Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year – and two years later, he got his second nomination for his acting in Prince of The City.
He also played Dr. Andrew Brown in Everwood – and he received two SAG Award nominations for his work on the show.
In a social media post from just seven hours ago, he shared a snap of his land with the caption: ‘Mowing today. Wish I could bottle the scent.’
And two hours before the news of his death came to light, he recorded himself mowing the ground, writing: ‘What a real Vermonter does.’
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