Dwayne Goodrich: 'I regret that I panicked'
Posted on 02/01/2003 2:34:45 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Dwayne Goodrich: 'I regret that I panicked'
02/01/2003
Dallas Cowboys player Dwayne Goodrich "panicked" and drove home after hitting what he thought was a tire or debris while driving along Interstate 35E in the early morning hours of Jan. 14, according to a written statement he gave police.
He wrote that he went home, put his car in his garage and walked to a friend's house, where he called his "mother, agent, lawyer and we called the police to report this," he wrote.
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"I am very sorry for the pain that I have caused anyone," Mr. Goodrich wrote. "I regret that I panicked and did not stop."
Mr. Goodrich's signed statement, along with other court and police documents, were released Friday by the Dallas County district attorney's office after a grand jury staff member mistakenly released them to a member of the media Thursday.
 Demont Matthews |
Mr. Carnes said no decisions have been made about whether the employee will be disciplined.
Reed Prospere, Mr. Goodrich's attorney, said: "Mistakes happen. This obviously was a mistake."
Mr. Goodrich faces two counts of manslaughter and three counts of failure to stop and render aid.
 Joseph Wood |
Witness statements paint a picture of the early-morning events:
Michael Long, a long-haul truck driver, was traveling north when a black Mitsubishi slammed into the rear of his tractor-trailer cab as he was driving 60 mph. He stopped, pulled over and saw the men hit.
Shuki Josef and his wife, Pamela, of Dallas stopped to help when they saw the burning car and two men trying to rescue the driver. Mr. Josef said the driver was trapped by his seat belt and sent his wife to get scissors from their car parked on the shoulder of the freeway. He told police he heard a loud noise, looked up and saw a speeding vehicle approaching. He was knocked back and suffered a broken leg.
Rick Workman of Krum said he looked in his rearview mirror and saw two speeding vehicles racing in and out of traffic. The silver BMW passed to his left. A white car passed to his right.
Dallas police Lt. John Branton said investigators have no evidence that Mr. Goodrich was racing.
"He denies having been racing. ... That's at a dead end at this point," Lt. Branton said.
Marco Cardenas of Flower Mound told police he was going about 70 mph, and the BMW passed him as if he were standing still. He saw brake lights as the BMW swerved quickly to the left. He heard the crash as smoke and debris flew.
Several hours later, police said they got a tip that the driver of the BMW was Mr. Goodrich. They contacted his attorney and met with Mr. Goodrich that afternoon.
Investigators retrieved the BMW from his garage in Coppell. They have collected blood, hair and tissue evidence from the car, which sustained "extensive damage to the front right, hood, windshield and right side," according to the police report.
Mr. Goodrich remains free on bond.
E-mail teiserer@dallasnews.com
Rick Workman of Krum said he looked in his rearview mirror and saw two speeding vehicles racing in and out of traffic. The silver BMW passed to his left. A white car passed to his right.
Dallas police Lt. John Branton said investigators have no evidence that Mr. Goodrich was racing.
"He denies having been racing. ... That's at a dead end at this point," Lt. Branton said.
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The racing is a dead end? He's still out on his own recognizance?
Geeeeeeeeeeeeez, what do you have to do to be taken into custody these days?
Two lives, good Samaritans on top of it, snuffed out in a flash. God have mercy on their souls. Prayers to the families...
People are very bad at judging speed. I am part of a safety committee that reviews accidents for the company I work for, doesn't make me a expert, but I have reviewed many of these incidents.
"Your truck was driving 80 MPH in a 45 MPH zone. I followed him though three red lights" is a very typical statement, which can not happen because our trucks are governed at 55 MPH.
My point being, witnesses are not very reliable. His broken car and two dead bodies are testimony enough to the fact he was deserves to be in the gray bar hotel, unless of course he is a NBA star and all is forgiven.
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