Luke
04-01-2009, 02:01 PM
MIAMI -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth will be charged Wednesday with killing a pedestrian last month while driving drunk in Miami, according to people familiar with the case.
ESPN's Michael Smith confirmed the story.
Two people said an arrest warrant charging the 28-year-old Stallworth with DUI manslaughter will be filed Wednesday in the March 14 accident that killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes. The people requested anonymity because the charges haven't been announced.
The charge carries a possible 15-year prison sentence. Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .12, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with DUI, according to the people informed about the case.
Stallworth, who is expected to surrender in court Thursday, released a statement after the incident saying, "My family and I are grief-stricken over the tragic accident which occurred Saturday on Miami Beach where Mario Reyes sadly lost his life."
He returned to Cleveland and has been working out with the team, which Miami Beach police were aware of, according to Stallworth's attorney, Chris Lyons.
A Miami Beach police report said that Reyes was not in a crosswalk on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by the Bentley luxury car driven by Stallworth. The construction crane operator was trying to catch a bus home after finishing his shift about 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.
Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns before last season but was injured much of the year. He previously played for New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans.
ESPN's Michael Smith confirmed the story.
Two people said an arrest warrant charging the 28-year-old Stallworth with DUI manslaughter will be filed Wednesday in the March 14 accident that killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes. The people requested anonymity because the charges haven't been announced.
The charge carries a possible 15-year prison sentence. Stallworth's blood-alcohol level after the crash was .12, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test. Stallworth will also be charged with DUI, according to the people informed about the case.
Stallworth, who is expected to surrender in court Thursday, released a statement after the incident saying, "My family and I are grief-stricken over the tragic accident which occurred Saturday on Miami Beach where Mario Reyes sadly lost his life."
He returned to Cleveland and has been working out with the team, which Miami Beach police were aware of, according to Stallworth's attorney, Chris Lyons.
A Miami Beach police report said that Reyes was not in a crosswalk on busy MacArthur Causeway when he was struck by the Bentley luxury car driven by Stallworth. The construction crane operator was trying to catch a bus home after finishing his shift about 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.
Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns before last season but was injured much of the year. He previously played for New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans.