(Fayetteville, AR) Arkansas Athletics Director Jeff Long announced in a Thursday evening press conference he is placing head football coach Bobby Petrino on administrative leave while he is reviewing information about a motorcycle accident involving the coach and another school employee.
Petrino released a statement before the media conference, stating he didn’t want to admit the female passenger was with him on the bike because it was an “inappropriate relationship.”
Jessica Dorrell, 25, of Elkins, was on a motorcycle with Petrino when it crashed Sunday, an Arkansas State Police report released Thursday says.
Coach Petrino said Tuesday he was alone when he crashed his motorcycle on Highway 16 near the Crosses community in Madison County Sunday evening.
Contacted by telephone Thursday, Dorrell told 5NEWS, “I’m not ready to comment at this time.”
On March 28, Dorrell was named a Student-Athlete Development Coordinator, according to a media release from the University.
She’s also a former member of the Razorback volleyball team.
Petrino wore a neck brace to the news conference which he said he is wearing because of the damage to his C2 vertebra.
He also said he had a cracked or broken rib.
Petrino said he wasn’t speeding on the curves of the two-lane highway, but that the sun and a gust of wind may be to blame for the accident.
When asked if he had been given a blood alcohol test after the accident, Petrino said, “I was given blood tests, but I absolutely had nothing to drink. I spent the day at the lake with my wife working. She works me hard when I’m up there. But I absolutely had no alcohol in my system.”
The state police report states Petrino and Dorrell were picked up by three passersby from Ozark who took them to East Hunstville Road and Crossover in Fayetteville.
Dorrell left in her personal vehicle and Petrino was taken to Physicians’ Specialty Hospital by Capt. Lance King with ASP, according to the report.
No word yet on if Dorrell sustained injuries in the accident.
