Patriots release LB Brandon Spikes after cops probe car accident
The New England Patriotsreleased linebacker Brandon Spikes on Monday, hours after police in Massachusetts started an investigation into why a car registered to Spikes was found abandoned on an interstate highway on Sunday morning.
Spikes, 27, was signed by the Patriots last month on a one-year deal.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, state troopers responded at 3:20 a.m. to a report of a 2011 Mercedes-Benz Maybach in the median strip of I-495 in Foxboro. The vehicle was abandoned with damage to its front end and the driver was nowhere to be found.
The driver of the vehicle reported to the OnStar on-board navigation system that the vehicle was hit by a deer, but investigators did not find a deer when they arrived at the scene.
Police then responded to a report of a 2009 Nissan Murano involved in an accident in the same area as the abandoned car. The occupants of the Nissan said they were rear-ended by another vehicle.
The three occupants of that vehicle—a 51-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman, and a 12-year-old boy—were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Authorities have not determined whether the two incidents are related and said no charges have been filed against anyone.
Spikes was selected by New England in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft and spent the first four of his NFL career with the Patriots. He was not re-signed by the team after the 2013 season and signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills last off-season.
Spikes played all 16 games in 2014 for the Bills, recording 54 tackles.
- Scooby Axson
