Ex-Miami Dolphins Player Charged With DUI In FL Turnpike Crash: FHP

BROWARD COUNTY, FL — Vontae Davis, an ex-NFL player, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence in a Sunday morning crash on the Florida Turnpike, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

The 34-year-old former cornerback for the Miami Dolphins was driving a Tesla on the turnpike in Broward County, near mile marker 45, just before 8 a.m. when he drove onto the right shoulder, FHP said.

He rear-ended a truck that had pulled over with a flat tire, the agency said. The truck spun and hit a pedestrian, who was hospitalized with several injuries after the crash.

When troopers arrived at the crash scene, “(Davis) was laying down on the right shoulder sleeping,” according to the FHP arrest report.

While speaking with him, troopers noted in the report that “his eyes were bloodshot red.”

The former athlete also “had to lean on the concrete barrier wall to keep himself sitting upright” and spoke with “slurred speech,” troopers said in their report.

Davis told troopers that at the time of the crash he was coming from a club, where he had “two drinks, two mixed drinks,” according to the report.

He was arrested and charged with DUI after refusing field sobriety and Breathalyzer tests, FHP said. He also refused to give a sample of his blood or urine.

In addition to the Dolphins, during his NFL career, Davis also played for the Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. He appeared in two Pro Bowls in 2014 and 2015.

He famously retired from pro football in the middle of the Bills’ second game of the 2018 season. He shocked his team by abruptly walking out at halftime of Buffalo’s 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, CBS Sports reported.

“This isn’t how I pictured retiring from the NFL. But in my 10th NFL season, I have been doing what my body has been programmed to do: Get ready to play on game day. I’ve endured multiple surgeries and played through many different injuries throughout my career and, over the last few weeks, this was the latest physical challenge,” Davis said in a statement after the game. “But today on the field, reality hit me fast and hard: I shouldn’t be out there anymore.”