Jayson Williams Charged with DWI in Crash

NEW YORK - NBA player Jayson Williams is facing DWI charges after smashing his black Mercedes SUV into a tree in an early morning East side crash. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital with minor injuries after hitting a tree.

The New York Police Department said it appeared Williams may have been drinking before the accident at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday off of a northbound exit of the FDR Drive.  He hit a tree at East 18th Street and Avenue C.

Williams was in the passenger seat when officers arrived and claimed someone else had been driving. But witnesses told police they saw him on the driver's side. Officers said no one else was in the car.

Last month, lawyers in New Jersey asked to be removed from his defense against a reckless manslaughter charge stemming from a 2002 shooting of his limo driver.

Williams retired in 2000 after nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets.