Spc. Frank Williams was sentenced in a military court in Kaiserslautern, Germany, Oct. 31, 2024 to 10 years confinement for purposely hitting a fellow soldier with his vehicle and then fleeing the scene. He also had his pay grade reduced to E-1 and was given a dishonorable discharge. (Aspen Reid/U.S. Air Force)

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — A former U.S. Army specialist stationed in Germany is now serving a lengthy prison sentence for purposely ramming into a fellow soldier with his car and then driving away.

The hit-and-run, which happened in Kaiserslautern last summer, left the victim with a traumatic brain injury and other grave medical issues, the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said in a statement Thursday.

Frank Williams, 24, admitted during a two-day general court-martial in October at Kleber Kaserne to hitting the victim with his car in August 2023, before driving to the Army’s installation in Baumholder, about 35 miles away, the statement said.

There, Williams falsely told authorities that the car damage was from a collision with a deer, according to the statement.

On Oct. 31, military judge Lt. Col. Tom Hynes sentenced Williams to 10 years behind bars as part of a plea deal. Williams admitted to maiming and making false official statements. His pay grade was reduced to E-1 and he was given a dishonorable discharge.

The victim told Hynes “how this heinous act will impact him for the rest of his life,” lead prosecutor Maj. Sara Nicholson said in the statement.

Prosecutors dismissed more serious charges including attempted murder as part of the deal, the Office of Special Trial Counsel said.

“This investigation revealed a deliberate act that put a fellow soldier’s life in grave danger,” Ryan Hall, special agent in charge at the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Europe office, said in Thursday’s statement.

The Criminal Investigation Division’s field office in Kaiserslautern investigated the case along with German authorities.