Bears Wide Receiver Accused Of Reckless Driving In Wesley Chapel

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — Chicago Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle, 28, was arrested Saturday in Wesley Chapel after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper caught him driving in circles on State Road 56 around 6 p.m. in his orange 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.

The trooper said he was burning rubber on State Road 56 east of Meadow Pointe Drive.

"I heard the sound of squealing tires and saw the cloud of smoke, which reduced the visibility to nearly zero for traffic on the westbound lanes," said the trooper. "I could smell the distinct smell of burnt rubber as I proceeded to turn around in the same median break. I observed a series of tire marks on the roadway consistent with a vehicle performing 'a donut.'"

The trooper said the orange Dodge Challenger proceeded to turn north on Meadow Pointe Drive and turn east onto Driscoll Drive where the trooper pulled him over.

When the trooper approached the car at 6:13 p.m., he found Pringle in the front seat and his son in the back seat. He said the car had fresh rubber particles attached to the orange body panel caused by wear from the tires.

A Pasco County sheriff's deputy arrived to provide backup and the trooper told Pringle he was under arrest for reckless driving and ordered him out of the car.

"The defendant ignored my verbal commands initially then became verbally confrontational," the trooper said in the arrest affidavit.

He was charged with reckless driving and driving with a suspended driver's license, and taken to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center.