Dallas Cowboys rookie Sam Williams was driving his new Corvette at speeds of up to 98 miles per hour before he crashed into another car three days before Christmas.
Police charged Williams with reckless driving, which is a misdemeanor. The Dallas Morning News obtained the arrest affidavit earlier this week. Although the accident happened Dec. 22, a warrant wasn’t issued until Jan. 10. Williams turned himself in a week later.
The affidavit said that a traffic officer, who is a certified accident reconstructionist, determined that Sam Williams averaged 92 mph leading up to the crash. His speed reached 98 mph at about five seconds to a half-second before he crashed into an SUV. The other driver was a 71-year-old woman. She was attempting to turn into a parking lot. Police said the accident happened at 2:22 p.m. The crash partially shut down the road for almost three hours.
Images from crash involving Cowboys' Sam Williams.
— Jeff Kolb (@JeffKolbFOX4) December 23, 2022
From Plano PD: "The driver of the Corvette is Samuel Williams, a football player with the Dallas Cowboys. Both parties were transported to a local hospital for precautionary reasons, but no serious injuries have been reported." pic.twitter.com/81CBkIUnqA
Although both Williams and the other driver were taken to a local hospital, neither suffered serious injuries. Police spoke to the other driver as part of the investigation. According to the affidavit, she told them that she was “midway through the turn.” Then, she told police a “black Corvette came around another vehicle at a high rate of speed. She advised there was nothing she could do, and the Corvette struck her car.”
Police said they received a 9-1-1 call before the accident, reporting Williams for running a red light and weaving between cars as he drove at a high rate of speed. Police said Williams told them that he did not run a light. He estimated that his top speed was 75 mph. He did say he swerved between lanes.
The Cowboys placed Sam Williams on the injury list, Dec. 23, the day before they played the Eagles at home at AT&T Stadium. The team said Williams suffered a neck strain and concussion. Two days later, he told reporters that he’d just purchased the Corvette the day before he crashed it.
“The accident, I look back over it and am just thankful for life. You know?” Sam Williams told reporters. “Being that Christmas [was] right around, the biggest gift we have is life every day because you never know. I encourage everyone to hug their loved ones. Any dispute with family members, anything, end it because you’ll never know when that day is.
The Cowboys selected Williams, the former Ole Miss star, in the second round of last April’s NFL draft. The defensive end played in 15 games this season, posting 22 tackles, four of them sacks.
