Texas troopers had recommended that Colorado Sen. Suzanne Williams be charged with criminally negligent homicide for a fatal highway accident she caused late last year. They also reported she tampered with evidence and was not “forthcoming.”
Williams’ attorney, David Lane, emphatically denied she tampered with evidence or was untruthful, and he noted that a grand jury in May rejected the troopers’ felony recommendations.
“Fortunately the good people of that county have the good sense to see through anything the police said,” Lane said. “That is obscene that they would say she was tampering with evidence and completely out of touch with humanity.”
Hartley County District Attorney David Green brought the case before a grand jury that declined to indict Williams on any charges. Green was on vacation and could not be reached for comment.
According to the report, signed by Sgt. Andrea Watson, Williams drove 783 miles from Aurora to McKinney, Texas, on Christmas Day to visit her son’s family and had slept only four to six hours before setting off for Colorado the next day.
During the trip home, her son Todd drove from McKinney to Amarillo as Williams napped and watched a movie with her two grandchildren in the back seat. In Amarillo, they stopped to shop and eat.
Williams began driving in Amarillo.
“It is the opinion of the reconstruction team that Mrs. Williams may have been fatigued while driving,” the report said.
Also, she may have been distracted “and not paying attention to her driving” because she was listening to her son read a book to his children, the report said.
The accident happened on a bridge on U.S. 385 near Channing in the Texas Panhandle. Guardrails prevented Eric Gomez, who was heading south in the proper lane, from driving onto the shoulder to avoid the crash, the report said.
Williams was driving on the wrong side of the road, causing the crash that killed Brianna Gomez, who was seven months pregnant. Her son was born by emergency C-section and survived.
Williams’ reckless driving caused the death of Gomez and injured her other two children, Mali and Eleri, the report said. Williams’ “negligence,” the report said, also caused injuries to Todd and his children, Tyler and Tristan, who weren’t wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.
“Mrs. Williams tampered with evidence when she moved Tristan from the roadway and Tyler from the dash by returning them to their locations prior to the crash and then not being forthcoming when the investigating officer first questioned her regarding if anyone had been ejected from her vehicle,” the report said. “She only later admitted to moving the children at the hospital when questioned further after inconsistent injuries were revealed on both children.”
Troopers recommended Williams be charged with criminally negligent homicide, four counts of injury to a child and tampering with physical evidence.
She should have been aware of the danger the children were facing by not having their seat belts on, the report said.
Lane said Williams was profoundly affected by the accident and that it is unfair to judge her actions immediately following the accident.
“She was not rationally speaking about anything,” he said. “The entire thing is a blur and a haze.”
Lane was critical of the troopers.
“I’m really sorry these cops are so bitterly disappointed,” he said. “Maybe next time they’ll find someone who committed a crime.”
After the grand jury rejected the felony charges, Texas troopers cited Williams for three misdemeanor traffic violations. She was cited for driving on the wrong side of the road while not passing and two seat-belt violations involving the grandchildren.
Todd Williams was cited for not wearing his seat belt.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
