Ex-Falcon Jamal Anderson Avoids Jail on DUI Charge

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- Former Atlanta Falcons star running back Jamal Anderson pleaded guilty to DUI in Gwinnett County on Tuesday, avoiding jail time in a case in which he parked his vehicle on Interstate 85 during rush-hour traffic.

Anderson, who popularized the “Dirty Bird” end zone celebration while helping lead the Falcons to Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, received 12 months probation and is required to avoid drugs and alcohol, prosecutor Mihae Park told the Gwinnett Daily Post.

His driver’s license was suspended and he must do 40 hours of community service.

Anderson, who lives in Suwanee, was arrested in November 2014 when a Georgia State Patrol report says he parked his Cadillac SUV and passed out on I-85 near Ga. Highway 316 shortly before 5:40 p.m.

An off-duty Brookhaven police officer was flagged down by motorists and responded to the scene, followed by a state patrol trooper.

The trooper’s report says Anderson appeared unsteady on his feet and had a heavy odor of alcohol about him.

“I asked Anderson why he had stopped in the middle of the interstate, noting that it was extremely dangerous and asked him if he was trying to hurt himself,” the trooper wrote. “He stated that he wasn’t trying to hurt himself and he didn’t really have a good explanation as to why he had parked in the middle of the interstate.”

Anderson, who rushed for 1,846 yards and 14 touchdowns in the Falcons’ NFC championship season, was arrested on DUI charges in Dekalb County in 2012, although the charge was later reduced to reckless driving.

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