Pittsburgh Steelers and former UGA receiver Hines Ward was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol early Saturday morning in Atlanta.
The incident occurred in DeKalb County and according to authorities, Ward was pulled over around 2:30 a.m. on Buford Highway near Briarwood Road after an officer noticed his Aston Martin failing to maintain lane and hitting a curb.
Ward was issued a field sobriety test and failed. He refused to take a breathalyzer test but told officers he’d been partying at a downtown club, and had only had two drinks.
Ward, 35, was booked into DeKalb County jail and charged with DUI charge at around 3:41 a.m. Saturday (July 9, 2011) and was later released on $1,000 bail, posted by his longtime friend/banker Corey Allen.
In a statement released by Ward’s agent, he expressed remorse over the incident but claims he wasn’t under the influence of alcohol…
Andrew Ree, Ward’s Agent/Manager wrote the following post addressed to “Hines Ward FANS” via Ward’s Facebook page:
On July 9th Hines Ward was stopped by Dekalb Co. police for suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence. ?He cooperated fully with the police and ?truthfully answered all of their questions.
We are currently in the process of ascertaining all the facts. ?From our preliminary investigation we ?can tell you that we are confident that the facts will show that Hines was NOT impaired by alcohol while driving.
However, Hines is deeply saddened by this incident and apologizes to his fans and the Steelers organization for this distraction.
Just FYI, this isn’t the first time the NFL star has been arrested in Dekalb, County. Online records reveal Ward was charged with reckless driving and exceeding maximum speed limits back in April, 2007.
In that case, Ward was charged a $1,350 fine after he pleaded guilty to speeding, and the reckless driving charge was dropped.
When will these pro-athletes learn that the cops down here don’t play?