For an F.S.U. Football Player, a Hit-and-Run Becomes Two Traffic Tickets

RTR91 · Nov 14, 2014

In the early-morning hours of Oct. 5, as this college town was celebrating another big football victory by Florida State University, a starting cornerback on the team drove his car into the path of an oncoming vehicle driven by a teenager returning home from a job at the Olive Garden.

Both cars were totaled. But rather than remain at the scene as the law requires, the football player, P. J. Williams, left his wrecked vehicle in the street and fled into the darkness along with his two passengers, including Ronald Darby, the team’s other starting cornerback.

The Tallahassee police responded to the off-campus accident, eventually reaching out to the Florida State University police and the university’s athletic department.

By the next day, it was as if the hit-and-run had never happened.

The New York Times looked into how the police handled this case, reviewing law enforcement records and interviewing witnesses, lawyers, the police and a university representative. The examination found that Mr. Williams, driving with a suspended license, was given a break by the Tallahassee police, who initially labeled the accident a hit-and-run, a criminal act, but later decided to issue him only two traffic tickets. Afterward, the case did not show up in the city’s public online database of police calls — a technical glitch, the police said.

Lost in TN · Nov 14, 2014

B1GTide · Nov 14, 2014

Anyone surprised? We knew that the police department was corrupt.

bamaslammer · Nov 14, 2014

Well seriously who's going to punish them for this? The NCAA? The Florida Governor? Nobody is going to punish them so there is no reason to not do it. Even the insurance companies involved would probably rather just write a check rather than anger an influential FSU booster.

MS TN NC Tidefan · Nov 14, 2014

Que Jimbo defending the integrity of the program as Director of Player Development, Mario Edwards Sr, provides a ride home to the player fleeing the accident.

Catfish · Nov 14, 2014

Barry Switzer approves.

twofbyc · Nov 14, 2014

bamaslammer said:
Well seriously who's going to punish them for this? The NCAA? The Florida Governor? Nobody is going to punish them so there is no reason to not do it. Even the insurance companies involved would probably rather just write a check rather than anger an influential FSU booster.

I think at some point the Feds may step in; I'm not sure if has to be a case of murder or not, it might be. But at some point a line will be crossed that the Feds won't be able to tolerate; hard to imagine that a) that line hasn't already been crossed or b) it's not going to happen in the not-too-distant future.

Catfish · Nov 14, 2014

MS TN NC Tidefan said:
Que Jimbo defending the integrity of the program as Director of Player Development, Mario Edwards Sr, provides a ride home to the player fleeing the accident.

Jimbo says that, clearly, the whole accident was orchestrated to make FSU look bad by ESPN, The NCAA, the SEC, the REC, The College Football Playoff Committee, the Illuminati, the mafia, the Teamsters, the KGB and the Wu-Tang Clan.

JustNeedMe81 · Nov 14, 2014

How long is this going to continue.. with all the incidents in the past three years, this reminds me of Miami situation. I don't know if Jimbo Fisher will survive next year....

AgentAntiOrange · Nov 14, 2014

Catfish said:
Jimbo says that, clearly, the whole accident was orchestrated to make FSU look bad by ESPN, The NCAA, the SEC, the REC, The College Football Playoff Committee, the Illuminati, the mafia, the Teamsters, the KGB and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Foo Fighters conspire to take FSU down.

Catfish · Nov 14, 2014

AgentAntiOrange said:
Foo Fighters conspire to take FSU down.

You have to admire those courageous young men...day after day, bravely fighting foo. :wink:

glasscutter256 · Nov 14, 2014

AgentAntiOrange said:
Foo Fighters conspire to take FSU down.

First Jameis Winston gets out of his many transgressions. Delays hearing til after the season.
Then Karlos Williams domestic violence case gets dropped with no punishment or consequence.
Now, PJ Williams and Darby getting out of a hit-and-run?
I wonder how much the victims are getting paid to keep quiet over these matters.
If fisher continues to allow this type of behavior, eventually the program will self-destruct. Just ask Chizik while at AU.

mdb-tpet · Nov 14, 2014

glasscutter256 said:
First Jameis Winston gets out of his many transgressions. Delays hearing til after the season.
Then Karlos Williams domestic violence case gets dropped with no punishment or consequence.
Now, PJ Williams and Darby getting out of a hit-and-run?
I wonder how much the victims are getting paid to keep quiet over these matters.
If fisher continues to allow this type of behavior, eventually the program will self-destruct. Just ask Chizik while at AU.

Looks like this department may require a significant house cleaning. And the complicity between the FSU PD and the Tallahassee PD is at least concerning, if not damning. It does make one wonder what these football players have to do to get an actual arrest and conviction.

jthomas666 · Nov 14, 2014

Even more damning is that the university president doesn't seem to give a damn. You'd think there would be some concern for the way the football program is destroying whatever respectability FSU still had.

Moro Creek · Nov 14, 2014

P.J. was just trying to get to a celebration party and didn't have time for all the wreck hoopla. The TPD probably arrested the other driver for getting in his way. They need cash flow from the little people you know.

major tidefan · Nov 14, 2014

Shocking,positively shocking.:rolleye2:

CrimsonPride · Nov 14, 2014

Not only hit and run, but hit and run with a suspended license. Lord, you just can't make this stuff up. I bet watching the show "How to Get Away with Murder" is mandatory for every FSU football player.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

bamahippie · Nov 14, 2014

Ah, yes. A technical glitch.

Technically, <wink, wink> this never happened.

Catfish · Nov 14, 2014

Moro Creek said:
P.J. was just trying to get to his daily prayer meeting and then to the hospital to cheer up terminally ill children and didn't have time for all the wreck hoopla. The TPD probably arrested the other driver for getting in his way. They need cash flow from the little people you know.

Jimbo FIFY.

RTR91 · Nov 14, 2014

This story is spreading on Twitter, so FSU fans have decided to report the link as a "phishing link." Twitter has gotten so many reports it is now warning users the link may be spam. Unbelievable.

For an F.S.U. Football Player, a Hit-and-Run Becomes Two Traffic Tickets

Super Moderator

1st Team

TideFans Legend

All-American

3rd Team

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

1st Team

Hall of Fame

All-American

All-SEC

Hall of Fame

All-SEC

All-American

1st Team

All-SEC

Hall of Fame

Super Moderator

TideFans.shop - NEW Stuff!