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MIAMI — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth said on a 911 call that the man he struck with his car while driving drunk “came out of nowhere” before the crash.
The former University of Tennessee star is serving a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in the March 14 death of 59-year-old Mario Reyes. Stallworth also reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Reyes’ family.
Stallworth also has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Attorney David Cornwell, who is representing Stallworth in that matter, released a statement Tuesday after the Miami Herald reported on its Web site, citing unidentified sources, that the receiver tested positive for marijuana after the accident.
Cornwell stated any facts surrounding the case that might soon become public were fully known by law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge when the plea agreement was reached.
Those facts could include the presence of marijuana in Stallworth’s blood, according to the lawyer’s statement. An individual can test positive for marijuana weeks after its use, meaning its presence in Stallworth’s blood doesn’t necessarily mean he was under the influence at the time of the accident.
While the marijuana hasn’t appeared to play a role in Stallworth’s criminal case, it could affect his standing with the NFL and its drug policies.
“The NFL’s substance abuse policy addresses the specific discipline that may be imposed for use of illegal substances,” Cornwell said in his statement. “We are confident that Commissioner (Roger) Goodell will respect existing league polices and consider all of the evidence when making his disciplinary assessment.”
On the 911 call released Monday, Stallworth describes how the victim “just ran in front of my car” before he was struck. Police have said Reyes was not in a crosswalk and was rushing to catch a bus when he was hit.
“You got to send an ambulance right now, man,” Stallworth told the 911 operator.
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Comments » 27
chad_t31 writes:
I realize that donte had been drinking and it's awful that this happened. Got a question though. Earlier it was reported that donte honked and flashed his lights to get the guy's attention. Now the 911 release says that donte says the guy just came out of nowhere. Was the guy crawling or something? I mean u don't have time to honk or flash lights if the guy comes out of nowhere. Just doesn't make much sense to me.
ALock4UT writes:
Well atleast he handled it better than Goodrich.
RoadTrip writes:
Drinkin', druggin', textin', cell phonin', and drivin' = Bad Stuff. Just say no.
1stPoliceJustSayNoToPosting1st writes:
to posting first.
tnmantravel#531151 writes:
"Donte Stallworth, Grant High School Sacramento California"
iowavol writes:
I can see how you can look at it that way and come to the your conclusion that something is not consistent. However, since the beginning of this story, Donte hasn't backed down from his original claims the guy came out of nowhere. Supporting eyewitness claims somewhat corroborate his story - the guy was hurrying to catch a bus and not in a cross walk.
I'm not a lawyer and could be very wrong on this, but drunk driving removes the pretense of presummed innoncent until proven guilty in situations like these. Since Donte reached an agreement with authorities to plead quilty for a 30 day sentence for manslaughter and reached a settlement with the family out of court, that tells me that the guy was somewhat complicit in the accident.
A lot of folks have commented that since Donte was drunk he should be thrown to the wolves and true enough, there's probably not too many of us who don't know of someone killed or seriously injured by a drunk driver. But the settlement and sentence tell me there's more to the story than what's being reported.
I've been in the car when a pedestrian came out of nowhere and was hit. The driver was not drunk but there was nothing he could do it happened so fast. I've also killed a couple of deer with my vehicles and I will garauntee you, there was absolutely nothing I could do and sure as heck wasn't drunk. Whether or not Donte could have avoided this guy IF he had been sober is something none of us will ever know.
chad_t31 writes:
I'm not disputing the fact that donte did all he could and I'm not suggesting he saw the man 200 yards away. The whole situation just seemed a bit odd to me. And I understand the whole plea agreement deal and I realize that the prosecution are the ones who arranged the plea deal, which again raises eyebrows. Seemed very quick to act on making a monetary plea.
Bigger_Al writes:
I think this shows, at a minimum, that Donte is a stand-up guy who was focusing on the well-being of the person who ran in front of his car rather than himself and his own interests. That said, it is heartbreaking that Mario Reyes' life had to end like that.
The .12 BAC Donte registered is not a high reading, particularly for someone with an athlete's coordination and reaction reflexes. I'm willing to bet that any teeny-bopper that drives with a cellphone glued to their head is more of a danger than a professional athlete with a .12. There are studies that have produced the data to back that up.
Before I get attacked, I was hit head-on by a chronic drunk on a revoked license, and he was WAYYYYY higher than that. I had multiple injuries to my internal organs, collapsed lungs, broken legs and feet, a broken arm, and my face was surgically reconstructed. I was saved by the "jaws of life" maneuver. Not sure why I'm still here...
chad_t31 writes:
by the grace of God, brother. Sounds like a horrible accident. Glad u have recovered.
utvols420 writes:
marijuana doesn't hamper your driving. Its a fact.
byobbio writes:
Where do you get your facts? Your bongwater? Marijuana absolutely affects your driving. And, apparently your ability to conjure up "facts".
jcherrie#219531 writes:
You are correct. I haven't smoked it 20 years and I was never stupid enough to drive after smoking it.
However, marijuana does hamper one's ability to drive.
Evidently, it does affect one's ability to convey one's thoughts.
FYI: Our beloved University of Tennessee does offer courses in both English and Toxicology. It's a fact.
Mr_Bandman writes:
maybe...BUT....it IS illegal...regardless of your position on whether it should be or not, the "fact" remains that it is...and it does hamper judgement.
Also, while .12 might not be all that high a B/A level, it is also illegal to operate a motor vehicle at that level.
I've been uncomfortable with this since the story broke, and I'm more uncomfortable now---Stallworth was legally drunk AND had measurable levels of an illegal drug in his system when the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a pedestrian....how on earth did he get off that easily? Stand up guy or not, vehicular manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol AND marijuana seems like it would carry a stiffer penalty than the slap on the wrist handed out here. Sorry---I'm sure someone on here will disagree and feel the need to insult me for expressing my opinion, but I think the justice system failed miserably here. I'll go even further out on a limb (if you disagree, bring it!)---I think that accidentally taking a human life while behaving irresponsibly and outside the law is a worse crime than purposely taking the life of hundreds of dogs for entertainment. Donte Stallworth should get a harsher penalty than Michael Vick. Where is the outrage? Where are the talking heads from the Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Humans? I like dogs, and I certainly think it's repulsive to torture them, but one human life is worth more than the life of all the dogs on earth. Sorry---that's a "fact".
chad_t31 writes:
Apparently u aren't reading the same posts that I am. No one said what he did was right.
Mr_Bandman writes:
true, I suppose, but I still think DS's penalty does not fit the crime....it seems a little like reducing the sentance for a mugger because the victim shared culpability for having a wallet at the time of the mugging.
Mr_Bandman writes:
DS did not simply accidentally kill a man---he accidentally killed a man while he was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs---there's a whole lot wrong with that, and it should not matter one bit that the victim was standing somewhere he should not have been---my point, which is quite valid, is that the crimes should not balance each other out. The fact that the victim may have been jaywalking does not diminish the severity of vehicular maslaughter committed under the influence of illegal drugs and alcohol. In this case, the crimes more than balanced out----one man jaywalked and lost his life; one man drank too much, used illegal drugs, then got in his car and drove over the jaywalker, and got a few days in jail and a couple of years of probabtion, and after a period of time will likely be allowed to continue his career of playing a little boy's game for millions of dollars. Where's the equity there? Validate that.
SkimMilky writes:
Who cares if he smoked pot? He's a grown adult...perhaps if it were legal, he would have stayed home that night and watched cartoons instead of taking Americas destructive legal drug.....da Alcohol, and killing someone.
SkimMilky writes:
Yes, marijuana can hamper your ability to drive, so can alcohol, cold medicine, sleeping pills, countless legal narcotics, ect...ect...ect...I fully support decriminalization...but not driving under the influence of anything. Why Donte, why????? Can't you just smoke and then eat some Captain Crunch like everyone else???
Waldorf writes:
Yet another example of Foolmore's development of young men.
SkimMilky writes:
I think it should be pointed out as well, if he "tested positive," that technically means he has smoked within the last 25-30 days. It doesn't mean he was stoned while driving during that particular incident.
tallfry writes:
1st, he pled because of the bac, not because he thought he was at fault. once you are drunk, you are guilty regardless of what other factors were involved.
2nd, the marijuana test is meaningless. it takes a month for it to pass thru your system, so a positive test could mean you'd just smoked or it could mean you'd smoked 3 weeks ago. the test can't tell the difference.
murrayvol writes:
My first reaction when a person or vehicle appears in front of me is to hit the brakes, not the lights or horn. But that's just me.
SkimMilky writes:
Exactly right.
chad_t31 writes:
just heard that ppl close to roger goodell are saying that he will suspend plaxico burress and michael vick for the entire upcoming season. I don't imagine DS will be playing this fall either.
Go4Two writes:
What does Ok Sooners and Pot have in common.
A. They both get smoked in a bowl.
Mr_Bandman writes:
Man, you really are an idiot. A man gets in a car after drinking and/or smoking weed, and kills someone, and he's supposed to get a break? Criminal intent has nothing to do with it---do you know how many people are killed each year by impaired drivers? I pray you never have to deal with the loss of someone close to you at the hands of a COMPLETE F-ING LOSER like Donte Stallworth. People like you make me sick. Criminal intent...you are among the stupidest people alive. Stop wasting good oxygen and go step in front of a drunk driver.
Mr_Bandman writes:
I believe you're a retired idiot. And a bigot to boot. You're the reason people don't trust cops. All it takes is a comment like that to unmask what a filthy, wretched excuse for a person you are. Go have a Krispy Kreme and reminisce about the good ole' days.
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