The two passengers in Ndamukong Suh’s car that
crashed in downtown Portland early Saturday morning have denied his account of the events, telling police Suh was going “too fast” and was not trying to get around a stopped taxi when he lost control of the car.
At approximately 1:15 a.m., the 24-year-old Detroit Lions defensive tackle crashed a 1970 Chevrolet Coupe into a tree at the intersection of Northwest 3rd Avenue and West Burnside, according to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB).
In the initial police report, Suh told officers he was traveling southbound on 3rd and tried to go around a stopped taxi as he approached Burnside, spinning out into a curb, tree, water fountain and light pole. Responding officers determined that Sue was not impaired and simply lost control of the car.
In a second report Sunday, two women that were occupants in the car denied seeing a taxi blocking the road, and also said that Suh was traveling “too fast” before the crash. Both claimed they were injured in the incident.
“He was driving too fast and reckless all the time. There was never a taxi. He was just going too fast and he could have killed someone at Dante's,” one of the women stated in the police report. Dante's is a night club located at 350 West Burnside near the location of the crash.
The same woman told police she suffered a laceration to her forehead that required five stitches, a black eye, a "busted lip" and a torn shoulder muscle.
The women allege they left the scene before police arrived to avoid the large crowd of people who had gathered outside Dante's to take photos of Suh. They told police they called for a ride in order to get medical treatment.
The PPB says regardless of the new information, it will not investigate the crash because it did not involve “intoxicated drivers, traumatic injuries, or vulnerable road users.”
Suh graduated from Portland's Grant High School. He is currently serving a
2-game suspension for his actions during a Thanksgiving Day game against the Green Bay Packers.
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Faris Tanyos
