The Ventura County Star reported Monday that a former National Football League and University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) football player who starred for a local high school varsity football team was arrested for suspicion of felony driving under the influence (DUI) last Saturday morning.
The 39-year-old suspect, who was a Westlake High All-American, was involved in an injury accident at the intersection of Erbes Road and Houser Circle around 9:30 pm on Friday night, according to officials from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. He was arrested around 1 am on Saturday and booked into the Ventura County Jail on charges including felony DUI causing injury.
The injured party was transported to a local hospital with injuries described as ‘serious’, although no other information was available since this is considered an ongoing investigation.
The suspect was a USA Today All-American and Ventura County Football Coaches Association Offensive Lineman Of The Year as a high school senior at Westlake in 1998. After scoring seven touchdowns and catching 59 passes as a tight end at UCLA, where he made first team on the All-Pac 10 squad, he was taken with a third-round draft pick in the NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, although his career was cut short by two knee surgeries due to ACL damage.
