DUI is the obvious choice for not stopping after sending a woman ‘flying’.

Drugs and/or illegal weapons are another possible reason. The cops are probably going to want to have a look around a vehicle that has just been involved in an accident.

The fear of being caught with a transvestite hooker (and who of us haven’t known that dread?) could motivate a guy to flee the scene of an accident. Hugh Grant’s career has just never recovered and hasn’t Eddie Murphy been reduced to sappy animated voice overs?

The latest news is not good at all. If true, and Lynch was the driver, has anyone thought the worst? That when we look back on this week years from now, we can point to it as the beginning of the end of the franchise in Buffalo. I know that is doomsday thinking, but this is our best player, who will be suspended for at least this year, not-to-mention serve jail time. And is it that far-fetched to think the Bills will not attempt to void his contract entirely?

Lynch not speaking at this point is not a reflexion of his guilt, IMO. He absolutely, positively, 100% should not a say word without his lawyer, whether he was behind the wheel with a beer-bong doing horse tranquilizers or at his church (or synagogue, mosque, temple, etc.) doing late night volunteer work while a friend borrowed the car.

A civil lawsuit is a guarantee, not a possibility. He has everything (ok, just lots of money if he wasn’t in the car) to loose by making any statement sans attorney at this point, regardless of guilt. The pro to him speaking right now and proclaiming his innocence? Bills fans could stop with the doomsday predictions. I don’t know if that is enough incentive for him to say something stupid (i.e. “No I didn’t do it. I gave the keys to my boy, DCRumbler. I’ve known him forever and he hardly ever drinks while driving”). Making a statement anywhere near close to that assures that, after suit, he’ll be driving a 1997 GMC Jimmy and not a 2008 Porsche.

On point #2 – I’m not so sure the SUV turned on red. It was turning left from Chippewa onto Delaware, and the woman was crossing Delaware. So if it turned on a red light, the woman would have been crossing the street against traffic on Delaware.
After watching the video on the first link, the witness seems to agree – it’s hard to tell with the random pointing, but I think the SUV had a green light and turned left; the woman had a green walk sign to cross Delaware and thus had the right of way.

Not that it matters much… it sounds the car was going too fast through the intersection anyway.

One other point – the police impounded the car (and really fast, too, so a witness or the camera must have seen the license plate) but still want to talk to Lynch. I doubt they came to the house and just took the car without asking to talk to him, so either: he said he wouldn’t say anything without his lawyer (good), he wasn’t there because he wasn’t driving (even better), or he ran/hid from the police (much worse).

Just saw the report from WKBW that says his Cayenne was recovered in Hamburg. Anyone know if that would mean it was from/near his house or not? Certainly nowhere close to the scene right?

I think the longer this drags on, the worse it will get. Some kind of statement via his lawyer must be issued soon, proclaiming his innocence of course. If not, it does look like he might have been in the vehicle. And hopefully, w/o the transvestite hooker(s).

How did they impound the car? Did they just find it, and take it? Isn’t there some sort of legal process that must be followed? I really don’t know, as I’ve never hit and run a canuck (she was from Ontario – more on that below) while driving drunk on Chippewa while scolding the midgets in the backseat for dropping the bag of coke.

Also, can the car be searched while in custody? God forbid they find the remnants of that spilled bag of goodies…

One thing that maybe will go in Lynch’s favor, is the DA. Frank Clark is not running for re-election this year (http://albanysinsanity.wnymedia.net/blogs/2008/05/12/da-frank-clark-not-running-for-re-election/). Maybe I am naive, but I’m hoping this isn’t the sort of thing that he will want to pursue, given his health/age etc…

With that said, one thing that could nix that is the fact that the woman is from Ontario. Right now, the influx of Canadian money into WNY is the only thing that’s saving this area from a total recession. If an image is painted that it’s unsafe for our friends from the north to come on down, who knows how that could affect the local economy.

I also hope the Bills have been proactive on this, and called Goodell’s office immediately, and explained the situation thoroughly (ie – told them the things the cops haven’t been told yet). It is in Lynch’s best interests to stay in his good graces. While I’m sure legally he will get out of this (my guess is the woman would be very happy with a hundred thousand loonies or so), Goodell is the judge, jury, and executioner for the NFL, and so far, his wrath has been rather fierce compared to other commissioners.

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but as of June 1st, doesn’t Goodell now have the ability to punish teams as well as players for their indiscretions?

Also, would it be from the date of the incident (alleged), or the date of an arrest?

I don’t know if I’d be more PO’d at Lynch for missing games due to a suspension, or if the Bills lose a mid round draft pick next year because of this.

CB says he’s at today’s OTA. That’s an encouraging sign to me. That’s assuming that the team woudn’t let him practice without talking to the cops first, which I think is a safe bet.

People do stupid things and whomever was driving Lynch’s SUV the other night certainly lived down to that expectation. It’s not like the driver arranged for the murder of his baby-momma a la Rae Carruth.

With that said, the driver will certainly be prosecuted and faces jail time. Fleeing the scene of a hit and run just doesn’t go over very well with prosecutors. The lady wasn’t hurt badly so it won’t necessarily be a lot of jail time. Fair or not, if Lynch was the driver the court could look to make an example of him and give him more time than it would for someone else. Even then I’d be surprised if it were a lot of jail time. The driver wasn’t bashing old ladies for their social security checks so I can see the time being fairly short just to make sure violent criminals had bed space in prison.

Another interesting question is whether Lynch would be criminally responsible for allowing someone else who was drunk or high to drive his SUV.

It is going to be very difficult for the cops to “place” Lynch at the scene of the crime. Security cameras rarely have good resolution and it’s unlikely it was close enough for a positive ID. The camera will likely prove it was Lynch’s SUV, which we apparently already know. If there was enough evidence already to place him or someone else in the vehicle, he would already have been arrested. Also, Lynch will likely only be suspended if he serves jail time. Goodell won’t suspend a player for simply having charges brought against him. AND if it is proven that Lynch wasn’t in the SUV, there won’t be much of a civil case, either… although Lynch will probably settle with her out of court to avoid any kind of civil lawsuit.

The cameras employed are very state of the art. The problem indentifying the driver won’t be a grainy picture, but the angle that the car was caught.

Also, don’t be so certain on Goodell going soft. You just have to act like a jerk, and he’ll suspend you. The fact is, Lynch’s ride hit someone, and ran away. He also might not like the way that the Lynch camp is going about this, which will certainly hurt Lynch and his chances to stay in the commish’s good graces.

I do agree with you on the civil suit. A gift certificate to the Walden Galleria is all it’ll probably take to settle out of court.

Here is a PFT link: http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/06/03/police-want-marshawn-to-talk/ and a USA Today link: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bills/2008-06-03-marshawn-lynch_N.htm

The cops have apparently not spoken to Lynch and it doesn’t appear that Lynch is inclined to speak to them. The USA Today piece states that, “The SUV was impounded after being discovered near Lynch’s home shortly after the accident. DeGeorge said police were unable to contact Lynch over the weekend, and even attempted to reach him through the Bills.” and “DeGeorge said police were not allowed to approach Lynch at practice because he has invoked his right to representation by an attorney.”

The fact that the SUV was found at his house “shortly” after the incident is not good. Suggestions that Lynch wasn’t in the vehicle are beginning to strain credulity. Why would someone drive the SUV to Lynch’s house after hitting a pedestrian if Lynch wasn’t in the car? Assuming Lynch was in the vehicle he either hid in the basement or took off with a friend after driving home. Either suggests that he had something to hide.

Chris Brown on buffalobills.com notes that the cops are going to speak to Lynch’s lawyer and that no charges have been filed. He then lists a time (1:20 p.m.) as though he expects his story to be outdated sometime this afternoon.

I noticed something on the video of today’s practice that I had overlooked before. Lynch’s teammates described him as being his usual self.

I want to believe that this is due to Lynch knowing that he’s got nothing to worry about and all of this will go away when the facts are known. Man, wouldn’t that be sweet after all of this hand wringing? It doesn’t seem very plausible but maybe his lawyer just has a tin ear for PR issues.

If, on the other hand, Lynch was in some way involved and this goes to trial his teammates’ comments could come back to haunt him. “The defendant, just days after callously running down a woman, showed no remorse or sorrow for his indefensible actions and instead was his usual self at work….”

4 days if driving and none if not.
He is a first time offender and will not be persecuted to the fullest by the league.
Legally, if the woman is not seriously injured, is this than what Hargrove did, and Hargrove had prior problems.

What if Lynch was in the backseat, either sleeping or passed out – and one of his friends was driving. Lynch wouldn’t have seen the accident so he wouldn’t be responsible for fleeing the crime scene. If I was Lynch that’s how I’d be playing it (and paying it). The league can’t suspend him for that story.

Maybe he’s not talking until his boys rehearse their lines perfectly – don’t want to mess up in front of the police!