DETROIT – A player who was waived by the Detroit Lions over the weekend was in court on Tuesday, accused of driving under the influence and causing a head-on crash.
On Saturday, Alexander Deonte Brown, 24, of South Carolina, was an NFL player in his first pre-season game. The next day the team cut him. Before he was waived, police said Brown was involved in a collision where he badly injured the other driver and critically injured teammate Charlie Taumoepeau.
Police said Brown was driving intoxicated at 2:13 a.m. Sunday (Aug. 15) and going the wrong way on southbound I-75 near I-375 in Detroit when he crashed into another vehicle.
Michigan State Police said Brown struck a car driven by a 27-year-old Detroit man. The crash caused an injury to the 27-year-old man’s legs, police said.
Brown stood silent in court on Tuesday as he was arraigned on four separate charges ranging from driving under the influence to reckless driving causing injury.
Police said when they interviewed Brown at the scene he didn’t know he was in Detroit. They said he believed he was at a strip club in Atlanta. Police said Brown had a blood alcohol content of .211.
Prosecutors said the case is so serious they wanted Brown held on an $800,000 bond. Brown’s attorney argued he should not be held so he can try out for other NFL teams.