JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into the actions of police officers who responded to a single-car accident involving Jacksonville Jaguars player Denard Robinson is still ongoing, but the sheriff’s office on Wednesday released traffic camera footage that shows the moments before Robinson drove his vehicle into a retention pond on July 3. Of course, that may have something to do with the fact that it was the wee hours of the morning, but rolling through the intersection in a Chevy Impala, then proceeding to be on the wrong side of the road, and then in front of a turn lane, seems like an very bad inopportune place to be at any time of day.
Advertisement
Authorities say both people were asleep when officers arrived at 4:20 a.m.to find the driver’s side of the Chevrolet Impala submerged in the pond.
“The decision to have a citation issued for careless driving was made by the Sheriff [Mike Williams] after his review of the reports”, said Melissa Bujeda, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office after the citation was announced July 14. Witnesses and police offers described having to wake not only Robinson, but his passenger as well, while the vehicle was being submerged in the water. However, police officers had to tell Robinson multiple times that the vehicle was in the pond and convince him to leave, according to the police report.
Robinson opened his eyes when the officer tried to wake the two up but then went back to sleep, the officer said in the report. I was able to reach in the vehicle and unlock the door so I could help the occupants exit the vehicle.
Police officers knocked on the door to wake them up, according to the report. The driver was passed out during this whole process. “I had to keep reminding the driver to climb out of the passenger side because his door was in the water”.
“So maybe he decided that he didn’t want to write the citation because he didn’t think he would fail the test, or there is a possibility that he didn’t do a citation or test because he is a Jaguar player”.
Williams ordered a review of the incident by the officer’s chain of command.
That enforcement came days later in the form of the careless driving citation.
Advertisement
I should not have been driving that late or when I was that exhausted, but again, I’m just glad that everyone was safe.
