A Texas college football player allegedly involved in a high-speed crash involving Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was suspended from his team, the school said.
Southern Methodist University, a private research school in University Park, Texas, announced the suspension of Theodore “Teddy” Knox on Thursday after Dallas police issued an arrest warrant for the SMU athlete.
Knox, 21, was driving a Corvette and Rice, 23, was driving a Lamborghini in the multivehicle collision in Dallas last month, police said.
“SMU takes these allegations seriously,” the school’s athletic department said in a statement, noting that “federal student privacy laws prevent the University from discussing details involving student disciplinary proceedings.”
Knox is a junior cornerback for the Mustang football team. He just finished his second season after transferring from Mississippi State.
Police said that investigators determined Knox and Rice were speeding on March 30 in the far-left lane of North Central Expressway and caused “a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles.”
They both allegedly fled the scene without checking on the people in the other vehicles, police said. No major injuries were reported but two people were taken to a local hospital and two others were treated at the scene, police said.
Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday for Rice and Knox accusing them of aggravated assault, collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury.
Rice turned himself in to the Glenn Heights Police Department on Thursday and was taken to the DeSoto Regional Jail. His attorney, Texas state Sen. Royce West, said the NFL athlete was released on bond and is cooperating with the investigation.
“Mr. Rice acknowledges his actions and feels deeply for those injured as a result of this accident,” West’s office said in a statement Thursday. “Our legal team is now tasked with reviewing all legal documents.”
Dallas police said Friday that they had not been notified of Knox turning himself in. A lawyer for Knox could not immediately be reached.
Attorney Marc C. Lenahan previously told NBC News that one of the victims in the crash was headed to dinner with family and friends when they saw “a flash” behind them.
“And then all of a sudden, they’re spinning and getting T-boned,” said Lenahan, who is representing one of the victims and helping another.
Rice, a receiver on the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs, said in an Instagram post last week that he takes full responsibility for his role in the crash.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone impacted in Saturday’s accident,” he wrote.
