Stallworth tape details events, drinking in hours before DUI crash that killed Miami man

Stallworth tape details events before DUI crash

MIAMI — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth told police he drank up to four shots of premium tequila while partying with friends at a Miami Beach club but did not feel drunk in the hours before he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car.

In a recorded interview with police, Stallworth said he met fellow Browns receiver Braylon Edwards and others at a hotel sometime after 2 a.m. on March 14. Stallworth said he drank some tequila from Edwards’ table and later bought some shots himself.

“Three, four at the most,” Stallworth said. “I wasn’t really counting.”

When asked if he was intoxicated, Stallworth said: “No, sir.”

Lab tests later showed Stallworth had a blood-alcohol level of .126, above Florida’s .08 limit.

Stallworth, 28, is serving a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in the death of 59-year-old Mario Reyes. Stallworth also reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Reyes’ family, which factored into his relatively light sentence.

The Stallworth interview with Miami Beach police and other evidence was released Tuesday by prosecutors under a public records request by The Associated Press.

Stallworth said he left the club sometime after 4 a.m., went to his Miami condominium for a nap and then decided to go out for breakfast in his 2005 Bentley. That’s when he encountered Reyes, who was leaving his job as a crane operator, crossing a busy road around 7:15 a.m.

“I seen him in the street and I flashed my lights at him to let him at least know I was coming. I tried to swerve over as much as I could,” Stallworth said.

Later, his voice falling almost to a whisper, Stallworth said, “If he would have completely stopped and not kept going … don’t know why he kept going. I don’t know. I should have just stayed home.”

Edwards, 26, said he and Stallworth had drinks earlier in the day by the pool at the hotel before meeting at the nightclub. A receipt shows that Edwards spent $3,443 that night at the club — including $1,500 on Perrier-Jouet Rose champagne and $695 on Grey Goose vodka — and he said Stallworth didn’t seem impaired when they parted ways early the morning of the crash. Edwards had a room at the hotel.

“We’re friends. If he were anything outside himself, I would have told him to stay here. He looked OK. He looked fine,” Edwards said in a recorded statement.

Stallworth’s credit card receipts shows he bought a $375 bottle of Patron Silver that he sent to Edwards’ table, five shots of the tequila for $90, a water and a Red Bull energy drink. Stallworth said some of the shots were for female friends.

The toxicology analysis also confirms reports that Stallworth tested positive for marijuana in addition to alcohol. Neither Stallworth nor Edwards mentioned any use of marijuana.

Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell following the incident. He signed a signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns before last season but was injured much of the year, finishing with 17 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown. The Tennessee college star has also played in the NFL for New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans.