NFL Player Charged With Manslaughter

Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Donte Stallworth Was Drunk When He Struck And Killed Miami Pedestrian, Blood Tests Show

(AP)  Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was charged on Wednesday with killing a pedestrian last month while driving drunk in Miami.

An arrest warrant charging Stallworth, 28, with drunk driving manslaughter was filed in the March 14 accident that killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes. If convicted, Stallworth would face a maximum 15-year prison sentence.

Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with driving under the influence, which carries a possible six-month sentence plus fines and community service for first offenders.

Stallworth, who was expected to surrender in court on Thursday, released a statement last month saying he was "grief-stricken" over the accident. Prosecutors said they will ask that he be released on $200,000 bail.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league will review the case under its conduct and substance abuse policies.

"As the state attorney has said, this was a tragic accident that raises serious issues and we join all those who have expressed their sympathies to the Reyes family," Aiello said.

Stallworth will be prohibited from driving while on bail and not allowed to drink alcohol, according to court documents. He also must observe a midnight to 6 a.m. curfew and submit to random alcohol and drug testing through the NFL's substance abuse program.

A Miami Beach police report said Reyes was not on a crossing on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by the Bentley driven by Stallworth. The construction crane operator was trying to catch a bus home after finishing his shift around 7:15 a.m.

The report also quoted Stallworth as saying he flashed his lights at Reyes in an attempted warning and that Stallworth was driving about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.

An additional police affidavit filed on Wednesday said that on the morning of the crash, Stallworth was drinking at a club in the posh Fountainebleau hotel on South Beach. He left to go to a nearby home — it's not clear if the home was one of Stallworth's three Miami-area properties — and then headed out to the causeway where Reyes was struck.

"I hit a man lying in the road," Stallworth told officers arriving to investigate the crash, according to the affidavit. One officer smelled alcohol on Stallworth's breath and said that his eyes appear "bloodshot and watery."

Stallworth's attorney Christopher Lyons did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns before last season but was injured for much of the season.

[honestabe8]

qfew: that we have some people driving drunk over here? not quite a secret, is it?

[qfew9]

What sort of message do these kinds of incidents convey to the rest of the world?

[honestabe8]

harpoot: they are paid what the market allows.

[harpoot]

Good that these over paid, pampered morons pay for their crimes. He's gonna learn the boo foo song. Too funny

[bunzzee1969]

well, I guess the prison football team will be tough to beat this year..along with the basketball team too..these instant millionaires have no clue.. and no respect for the God given talents they have been blesssed wtih..oh well...I bet the prison work-out room is full of interesting men who have a few excersises they will want to show him...

[nolies74621]

I agree with craigh41, it will be seven years on September 27, 2002, that I was severly injured by a PA state trooper with his car and still no justice. I am truly amazed with the justice system in my state.
Posted by phila48 at 12:24 PM : Apr 1, 2009


Man! What happened to you?

[nolies74621]

Unintentional consequence of drinking and driving can be life altering in more ways than one. Think before you drink.

[Truth4SD]

My question is, how was he totally drunk at 7am? Maybe it was from the night before when he was at like 0.24. There goes the 100 people that depend on his income.

[credibility2]

I hope he spends plenty of time in jail for what he did.

[rssllbll55]

TO BAD

[iDragon13]

oooooohhh...not good. Guess he'll be a receiver of a different kind fairly soon.

[phila48]

I agree with craigh41, it will be seven years on September 27, 2002, that I was severly injured by a PA state trooper with his car and still no justice. I am truly amazed with the justice system in my state.

[craigh41]

It's about time. If an ordinary citizen had done this they would have been in jail the night it happened.