Alabama offensive lineman Alphonse Taylor today was found not guilty of a DUI, according to a report from The Tuscaloosa News. On July 17, Taylor was charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident at an apartment complex in Tuscaloosa. The responding officer said he performed poorly on the field sobriety tests, but the lineman said he was tired and had bumped his head on the steering wheel.
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The decision came down this morning, when Tuscaloosa Municipal Court judge Ricky McKinney made the ruling roughly 24 hours before Taylor’s scheduled Wednesday court date. “What compounds this situation is we have a traffic accident in which (Taylor) hit his head on the steering wheel”. The judge is expected to issue a ruling on the leaving the scene of an accident charge after the vehicle that was struck has been repaired, said Taylor’s attorney, Jason Neff. Taylor said he had not been drinking and provided two negative breath samples that showed he had a 0.0 blood-alcohol content level.
Coach Nick Saban suspended Taylor indefinitely.
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Taylor had only left the scene, however, after self-reporting to Tuscaloosa police that he had hit another auto. The responding officer wrote in his report that Taylor “appeared lethargic” and was speaking “very slow”. Taylor started all 15 of Alabama’s games in 2015 at right guard. On Alabama’s official depth chart released Monday, Taylor was listed at second-team right guard, behind sophomore Ross Pierschbacher.
