The sad story of the fatal car accident involving Donte Stallworth that killed 59-year old Mario Reyes has resulted in an arrest warrant being filed charging Stallworth with DUI manslaughter.
Based on AP and ESPN.com reports on Stallworth facing DUI manslaughter charges:
Two people told the AP that 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
According to a report at ProFootballTalk.com, charges will not be formally entered against Stallworth for up to a month. PFT also reminds us that fellow former Tennessee Volunteer Leonard Little received only 90 days in prison following his conviction for driving drunk and killing Susan Gutweiler in 1998. Little was also arrested again a few years later for drunk driving.
For more background on the story, follow the links to MSF’s coverage and discussion of the Donte Stallworth accident:
- March 14: Donte Stallworth Could Face Charges in Fatal Traffic Accident in Miami Beach
- March 15: Fatal Traffic Incident Involving Donte Stallworth the Latest Black Eye for Tennessee, NFL
- March 19: Report – Donte Stallworth Over Legal Limit, DUI Manslaughter Charges Possible
Without question, this is a disappointing day for fans of Donte Stallworth, the Cleveland Browns, and the Tennessee Volunteers. The Browns were counting on Stalloworth to begin providing value this season for the seven-year, $35 million contract he signed last offseason. Stallworth was essentially a non-factor last year because of injuries and ineffectiveness.
The true disappointment, however, is the fact that a man with a family needlessly lost his life, and we now have confirmation that Donte Stallworth was impaired at the time of the accident. Stallworth now becomes the third Tennessee player from the successful late 90s era to be convicted of drunk/reckless driving, joining the aforementioned Little and Dwayne Goodrich, who is currently serving a
multiyear prison sentence.
We have grown used to NFL players being involved in stories like this one, and it is a trend that needs to stop. As big a fan as I have always been of Donte’s, there is absolutely nothing to be said in his defense. You can say that he was unlucky, and that it could happen to lots of people on lots of nights/mornings, but any amount of “unluck” for Stallworth pales in comparison to that experienced by Mario Reyes and his family.
Whether Donte flashed his lights at Reyes or not, and whether Reyes was in a crosswalk or not, Stallworth obviously did not have the reaction time nor was he driving with the caution necessary to reduce his threat to pedestrians and other cars.
This is just a sad, sad story on so many levels. I wish there was something I could say to defend a player that I’ve always liked, but obviously there is not. And if the charges prove true once the justice system has run its course, Donte Stallworth should face the same penalty that any “normal”, non-celebrity citizen would face. And hopefully, maybe, that will send a message to NFL players and people at large: there are grave consequences for getting behind the wheel impaired. So don’t do it.
Time to get back to work.
About Jerod Morris
