By Zaeem Shaikh
A Texas Department of Transportation crash report shed light on the sequence of events in a multivehicle crash involving an SMU football player and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice.
According to the report written by a Dallas police investigator, the Lamborghini Urus, driven by Rice, was traveling north in the left shoulder of U.S. Highway 75 near the Lovers Lane and Southwestern Boulevard exit ramp. The Chevrolet Corvette, which police believe Theodore “Teddy” Knox was driving, attempted to change from the left lane to the left shoulder and hit the right back quarter of the Urus, causing a collision on March 30 involving six cars.
An arrest-warrant affidavit said the Urus’ top speed was 119 mph in the seconds before the collision, and the Corvette hit a top speed of 116 mph. According to the affidavit, the Urus and the Corvette “both took faulty evasive action” to avoid hitting a sedan and other vehicles. The speed limit is 70 mph on the highway.
Rice and Knox each face eight charges in connection to the collision: one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury, Dallas police said. They turned themselves in last week before posting bond. SMU officials said Knox was suspended from the football team after the school learned of his alleged involvement.
Kristin Lowman, a Dallas police spokeswoman, said the drivers of the Corvette and Urus were speeding about 6:20 p.m. in the 6600 block of North Central Expressway where they both lost control.
According to the TxDOT report, after the Corvette and Urus collided, the back of the Urus hit the concrete median wall and then began to spin counterclockwise, the report said, before striking a Hyundai sedan. The Lamborghini continued moving forward and began to spin clockwise, the investigator wrote, when its left side hit the back of a Lexus SUV, causing the Lexus to spin in a counterclockwise direction as well.
The report includes a diagram that details how the vehicles spun and collided each other after the initial impact between the Corvette and the Urus.
Thirteen people were in the six cars involved in the collision, the report said, with five being in the Corvette and the Urus.
According to the report, there were two others in the Urus with Rice and one other person in the Corvette with Knox. Five men were seen on video leaving the scene after the crash. Police officials said they didn’t stop to see if anyone needed medical attention or provide any of their information.
The report said a 4-year-old passenger was in the Hyundai sedan. Kayla Quinn detailed her experience a day after the crash and said she was with her 4-year-old son, who was shaking and crying after the accident. It also notes that a 3-year-old passenger was in the Infiniti SUV.
The two passengers in the Lexus SUV both suffered injuries, with the driver suffering a suspected serious injury, the report said. An affidavit had said a driver had serious bodily injury to her face, head, torso and leg that required multiple stitches.
The investigator wrote in the report that in their opinion, the contributing factors to the crash were that both drivers were speeding. In addition, the Urus was driving on the shoulder and the Corvette attempted to change lanes when it was not safe.
Police have said the passengers in the Urus and Corvette will not face charges. At least three of the victims of the crash have retained counsel. A Dallas couple is suing Rice and Knox in connection with the collision.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said earlier this week that he has spoken to Rice and that the team is “letting the law enforcement part of it take place” and then the Chiefs “will go from there.”
Rice will take part in virtual meetings as the team begins voluntary workouts this week, Reid said. It’s not yet clear if he will be involved when the Chiefs begin on-field work at their facility May 20.
“We’ll just take it day-by-day as we go,” Reid said.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
