BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Cleveland Browns All-Pro Myles Garrett returned to the team’s headquarters Thursday after crashing his car earlier this week when police said he lost control while speeding on a rural road after practice.
Garrett veered his Porsche off the hilly road near his home a few hours after practice Monday, flipping the vehicle and hitting a fire hydrant. The defensive end suffered a sprained shoulder, strained biceps and had several cuts and bruises from the wreck.
On Thursday, the Ohio State Highway Patrol cited Garrett for speeding, saying he was going 65 mph in a 45 mph zone.
According to the accident report, Garrett, who had a female passenger in his car, told an officer he was accelerating up a hill when he saw a vehicle coming in the opposite direction but didn’t make any type of swerving maneuvers to avoid a crash.
The officer said Garrett couldn’t exactly recall how he went off the road.
A witness at the scene told the highway patrol “they came over the hill flyin’, went airborne, took the fire hydrant out and rolled three times.”
Garrett and his 23-year-old passenger were taken to Akron General Hospital for emergency care. The highway patrol said the passenger suffered a minor head injury. They were both released a few hours later.
Garrett has a history of speeding. He was ticketed on consecutive days in Medina County last year for driving 120 mph. In the second case, he paid a ticket in which the speed was amended to 99 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Garrett has not yet been ruled out of Sunday’s game at Atlanta. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Garrett would be evaluated by team doctors before he practices or plays. The Browns (2-1) are missing several defensive starters due to injuries as they ready for the Falcons (1-2).
On Wednesday, Stefanski and several of Garrett’s teammates offered gratitude and relief he was not more seriously injured.
“Something like that happens, it’s just scary for anybody,” safety John Johnson III said. “But I heard he had his seatbelt on. I don’t know if that helped out or not, but that was good. I’m just glad he came out of there clean.”
The No. 1 overall pick in 2017, Garrett needs one sack to pass Clay Matthews (62) for the team’s career record.
The Browns, who had an extended break after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday, are dealing with rash of injuries to their defense. Along with Garrett, end Jadeveon Clowney (ankle), cornerback Denzel Ward (back, ribs), linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (groin) and tackle Taven Bryan (hamstring) were also sidelined.
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