Wisconsin football fans may have heard of the NFL cornerback Eric Wright. He recently signed a contract worth more than $37 million to play professional football with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But this is not the only reason why he has been in the news lately. It is also because he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
The charges against Wright were upgraded to felony driving under the influence of alcohol because Wright was involved in an accident in which another driver was injured.
The accident occurred just after midnight on Monday, July 2. Wright allegedly told police officers that he had been drinking earlier in the evening at the home of a friend.
Thankfully, Wright was uninjured. The driver of the other vehicle suffered only minor injuries in the crash.
When police arrived on the scene, they attempted to administer both a field sobriety test and a chemical test, both of which were refused by Wright.
Wright was taken into custody and booked into prison in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Wright has faced criminal charges in the past during his college football career. In 2005, he transferred from the University of Southern California to the University of Nevada Las Vegas when he was arrested on suspicion of rape and was facing disciplinary actions by USC.
During the police investigation into the sex crime allegations, they also found 136 Ecstasy pills at his home. No drug charges were filed because prosecutors did not believe that they had sufficient evidence against Wright.
This time, if Wright is convicted on the felony DUI charges, he will have to face serious consequences including the possibility of jail time, fines and the loss or suspension of his driver’s license.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “NFL’s Eric Wright arrested in L.A. on felony DUI charge,” July 2, 2012