Another summer, another scandal for Sergio Kindle, a starting defensive end on UT’s football team. In July of 2007, Kindle was arrested for driving while intoxicated. As a result, he was suspended for the first three games of the season. Now, a plywood-covered hole on the first floor of Jefferson West Apartments attests to his latest faux pas.
Kindle’s lawyer, Brian Roark, told the Austin American-Statesman that Kindle lost control of his car at 1:50 a.m. Wednesday. He said Kindle was probably text-messaging.
Whatever the cause, Kindle’s car ended up partially through the wall of an apartment complex.
Kindle and several passengers pushed the car out of the complex and down the street. Then they abandoned it and went home.
Roark explained to the Statesman that, “[Kindle] knew he was hurt at the time and that he needed to go home and go to bed.”
According to Roark, Kindle was treated for a concussion sometime the next day, after calling apartment management to tell them he was responsible for the accident.
Ashley Zapata, a 21-year-old UT student, lived in the apartment. She told the Austin American-Statesman she was not at home at the time, but when Kindle crashed into her bedroom, the car destroyed furniture, an iPhone, a computer and a printer.
Roark said Jefferson West Apartments’ management company estimates the wreck caused about $8,700 in damage to the exterior of the building.
Maybe Kindle’s lawyer is right. Maybe Kindle was just too preoccupied with text messaging to notice his car make a 90-degree pivot and slam into an apartment complex. Maybe it was only his concussion that left him so confused he abandoned the scene of the accident.
Certainly, no one seems to be making much headway in investigating the incident.
The apartment complex said in a statement, “We have been in contact with the attorney of the responsible party and are working with the authorities to aid their investigation in any way that we can. A police report is expected to be filed on Monday.”
But a representative of APD claims that the department has no information about who is responsible for the accident. He told The Daily Texan no one has contacted the police with the information that Kindle was involved. The department has not released any information regarding suspects or filed any charges.
Zapata told the Texan that because she works for the apartment complex she cannot make a statement.
The Austin American-Statesman quoted a student named Emily Dole who claimed to be Zapata’s roommate, but the Texan has confirmed the student used “Dole” as a pseudonym. She also refused to make any further statement regarding the incident.
An eyewitness of the event would not go on the record when he confirmed he saw a flustered Kindle pulling his car out of the wreckage. He reasoned, as long as the residents of the apartment are compensated, there is no reason for Kindle to get in trouble.
The only person who seems willing to talk about the incident is Kindle’s attorney.
Of course, Longhorn football fans don’t want to see a star player suspended again. But Kindle’s status on UT’s campus should not remove him and his suspicious actions from scrutiny. Unfortunately, if the people who witnessed this incident or are aware of Kindle’s role in it refuse to speak up, it will be covered up as quickly as the hole in the side of Jefferson West Apartments. This leaves us asking one question: Where do students’ loyalties lie?
Every single UT football fan on Earth!!!