New York Jets rookie tight end Chris Herndon (23) was charged with driving while intoxicated over the weekend, the Miami Herald reported on Monday. Photo courtesy of
Miami Hurricanes Football/Twitter
New York Jets rookie tight end Chris Herndon was charged with driving while intoxicated over the weekend, the Miami Herald reported on Monday.
According to the newspaper, Herndon was driving a Nissan Armada and crashed into a Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser truck owned by 76-year-old Albert Elliott at 4:45 a.m. Saturday at mile marker 35.4 heading west on Interstate 80 in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. The accident occurred about 15 miles north of New York's practice facility in Florham Park.
The Herald also reported that Herndon demolished a railroad motorcar and the attached trailer, resulting in a bruised and gashed arm for Elliott.
It is unclear if Herndon was injured and the Jets did not provide further comment.
"We are aware of the situation and have no further comment at this time," a Jets spokesman told multiple New York area media outlets.
The Herald, citing a source, also said a witness on the scene said Herndon appeared to be speeding.
According to NJ Advance media, Herndon failed a breathalyzer test but New Jersey Sgt. Lawrence Peele declined to give the results.
Herndon was the Jets' fourth-round pick (107th overall) in this year's draft and signed his rookie contract a little over two weeks ago. The contract is a four-year, $3.1 million deal.
He is still recovering from an MCL injury in his left knee that he sustained in his final game for Miami and is being brought along slowly.
The 6-foot-4, 253-pound Herndon reeled in 40 passes for 477 yards with four touchdowns in 11 games last season. He collected 86 receptions, 1,048 yards and seven scores in 40 career contests with the Hurricanes.
Herndon's incident is the second DWI arrest for a member of the Jets this offseason.
In February, outside linebacker Dylan Donahue was arrested for DWI after allegedly causing a wrong-way crash with a jitney bus inside the Lincoln Tunnel connecting Weehawken with Manhattan.
Donahue, who was also arrested for DWI in his home state of Montana last year, went through a 30-day alcohol rehab stint in Florida after the second arrest.
