Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing eight charges for a hit-and-run crash that triggered a chain reaction crash on a highway in Dallas and left four people injured, according to police.
The 23-year-old NFL player is charged with one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and six counts of collision involving injury, police said.
Police identified 21-year-old Theodore Knox as the suspected driver of a second vehicle involved in the crash. Both men face the same charges.
Mr. Rice’s lawyer, Texas state Sen. Royce West, had no immediate comment about the charges. Mr. West previously said his client was driving a Lamborghini SUV when the crash occurred in late March.
It is unclear if Mr. Knox, who was allegedly driving a Chevrolet Corvette when the crash occurred, has an attorney.
Police said that neither of the two men were currently in custody.
The Kansas City Chiefs had no immediate comment.
Details of the Crash
On March 30 at about 6:20 p.m., the drivers of the two sports cars were allegedly speeding in the left lane when they lost control. The Lamborghini drove onto the shoulder and “hit the center median wall, causing a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles,” Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said.Police said the drivers of the Lamborghini and Corvette left the scene without checking on the other people involved in the crash or providing their information.
Mr. West said during a press conference that his client was not trying to run or hide from anyone. He did not provide an explanation as to why Mr. Rice fled the scene.
“He’s a young man that made a mistake,” Mr. West said on April 4, adding that Mr. Rice’s “heart goes out” to those who were injured.
Four days after the crash, Mr. Rice met with police for the first time. When Mr. West was asked why his client delayed speaking with authorities, he said that it took that amount of time for him to retain a lawyer and for counsel to “get some sort of idea of what was going on.”
After meeting with investigators, Mr. Rice posted on Instagram that he would take “full responsibility” for his role in the crash.
Kyle Coker, a lawyer for the Dallas-based exotic car rental company The Classic Lifestyle, said Mr. Rice had leased the Lamborghini from the company.
At least three of the crash victims have retained attorneys, according to multiple media reports.
Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Collision involving serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and collision involving injury is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Mr. Rice, who was born in Philadelphia, grew up in the Fort Worth, Texas, suburb of North Richland Hills.
He played college football at Southern Methodist University, where he had a breakout senior season in 2022 that put him on the NFL radar. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the second round last year.
