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Past FAMU band director won't face hit-run trial

TALLAHASSEE - A retired Florida A&M University band director will give up driving in exchange for having criminal hit-and-run charges dropped.

William P. Foster, 85, will also do community service at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for the next six months as part of the agreement, Chief Assistant State Attorney Warren Goodwin said Monday.

Foster's vehicle ran into Robert Safford, 81, as Safford crossed a Tallahassee street Aug. 10. Safford suffered a broken leg, chipped bones in his back and cuts to his scalp, reports said. Foster did not stop.

A tip led police to Foster, who told investigators he was driving to see an eye doctor when he heard a bump "and thought maybe children were throwing rocks," a report said. The next day he called his insurance company to report damage to his windshield, which had blood and hair on it.

He was charged with leaving the scene of a crash with personal injuries, a third-degree felony.

Foster has met with Safford and apologized, said his lawyer, Daryl Parks. "Dr. Foster expressed his sympathy and sorrow," Parks said. "He never intended for this to happen."

Goodwin said he took into account Foster's age, recent eye surgery and the fact that "he had absolutely no prior record, not even in traffic" when he decided to make the agreement.

"We're just happy this is resolved," said Sue Safford, the victim's wife. "We just want to get it behind us."

Foster directed FAMU's famed "Marching 100" band for 52 years, earning international acclaim and a place in the Florida Artists Hall of Fame. He retired in 1998.

[Last modified March 23, 2005, 00:54:07]