DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys lineman Josh Brent, the player charged with intoxication manslaughter in the one-car accident that killed his teammate Jerry Brown, had a blood alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash, according to a report.
Brent’s blood alcohol limit was 0.18, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday, citing an unnamed law enforcement source involved in the investigation.
Asked about the report Thursday, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said the team would continue to support Brent.
“I don’t want to get into specifics of that situation. There’s going to be a lot of details to come out about what exactly happened and I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to stand up here and address all of the different things,” he said. “Again, we’ll continue to support Josh — Josh is a member of our family — in every way that we can and at the same time try to help other people who are in a similar kind of situation.”
Brent, 24, was free on $500,000 bond Thursday. According to the Dallas Morning News, a spokesman for the Irving Police Department said Wednesday that investigators could present evidence as early as Thursday to the Dallas County district attorney’s office.
Another Irving police spokesman, John Argumaniz, said officers conducted a field-sobriety test on the 321-pound Brent after the accident.
Brent was placed on the reserve non-football injury list on Wednesday. With that, the club has the option of deciding whether or not to pay the player the remaining balance of his salary.
Brent has two years remaining on his contract and he’s making a base salary of $540,000 this season. Brent has three more paychecks coming his way.
“That’s something between us and the team and something we’ll discuss with Josh as we move forward,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on KTCK-AM on Wednesday night.
Police in suburban Irving say Brent was speeding early Saturday when his vehicle struck a curb and flipped. Brown was taken to a Dallas hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Dallas County medical examiner said he died after suffering blunt force trauma to his head and neck.
Officers who arrived at the accident scene found Brent pulling Brown from the wreck, according to an arrest affidavit. However, a woman who arrived moments after the accident said she urged Brent to pull Brown from the car but says he did not initially respond to her.
Stacee McWilliams, a 40-year-old insurance company employee, told the Dallas Morning News she was on her way home from her birthday party when she noticed the wreck and stopped. She told the newspaper Monday she could no longer talk about the case on the instruction of Irving police, and she did not respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking an interview Tuesday.
Brent’s attorney, George Milner, told the AP that an investigating officer told him the woman’s story didn’t match the circumstances surrounding Brown’s death.
Brent and Brown were teammates at Illinois, and Brown was rooming with Brent while he tried to make the Cowboys’ active roster.
A club where Brent and Brown reportedly spent at least part of Friday evening, Privae Dallas, has issued a statement saying it is “deeply saddened by the events of the weekend” and that it is cooperating with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and police.
“Privae Dallas is a club that offers its guests a special level of privacy and often caters to celebrities,” according to the statement, attributed to the club’s human resources manager. “The safety of our guests is very important to us, and our staff is trained to follow the regulations set forth by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.”
Comedian Shawn Wayans was at the club Friday night, and a club promoter tweeted that a dozen unnamed Cowboys players were there, ordering numerous bottles of a popular champagne. In Texas, the sale of alcohol with criminal negligence to an intoxicated person is a misdemeanor punishable with a fine of up to $500 and up to a year in jail.
The TABC, which enforces the state’s liquor laws, also can suspend or cancel the license of an establishment found to have served an intoxicated customer.
TABC spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said the agency is investigating the accident, as it does all alcohol-related fatalities that come to its attention. She said the agency has been told the players were drinking at more than one location, but she declined to be specific.
Courtesy of espn.com