3 Pitt football players charged with "recklessly" riding dirt bikes through Oakland

Three University of Pittsburgh football players are facing charges after police said they "recklessly" rode dirt bikes through Oakland last month and led officers on a chase.

Zion Ferguson, 20, Tyreek Robinson, 20, and Cataurus Hicks, 21, are facing several charges, including fleeing or attempting to elude police, recklessly endangering another person and traffic violations, after police said they dangerously drove dirt bikes through Oakland.

According to court paperwork, shortly before 8 p.m. on June 16, the University of Pittsburgh Police Department said three people were seen driving dirt bikes on sidewalks, "violating traffic laws, being disorderly, driving recklessly." 

Pitt police said officers began to canvass the area, and after they turned on their lights and sirens to conduct a traffic stop, the riders drove through a red light on Oakland Avenue, almost hitting a pedestrian. Police said officers had to give up the chase after the riders made illegal turns and drove into traffic.

Police said one of the drivers, later identified as Zion Ferguson, sped down a sidewalk on Fifth Avenue before crashing into a Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire battalion chief's vehicle near McKee Place.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the University of Pittsburgh said, "We are reviewing the information involving student-athletes on our football team but decline to comment further at this time."