TROY — A former Ohio State and Penn State football player admitted consuming five or six beers before taking his girlfriend on an ATV ride in May in Bradford County that ended in her death.
That information is contained in a state police affidavit in support of charges against Julian Crushshon-Fleming. He was arraigned Wednesday and later released after posting $75,000 bail.
Fleming’s girlfriend Alyssa Denise Boyd, 23, of Bloomsburg, was killed May 23 when the ATV he was operating struck a deer that jumped onto Painter Lick Lane in Columbia Twp. in the western part of the county about 8:10 p.m.
Boyd was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries that included a skull fracture.
Fleming, 24, of Elysburg, who did not use a hyphenated name in sports, was knocked unconscious.
Besides telling troopers at the scene he had consumed five or six beers, he related to a citizen who stopped to help that he had been drinking and a deer had jumped in front of him, the arrest affidavit states.
Based on the results of a blood draw, police said Fleming’s alcohol level was .118. The legal limit to drive a vehicle is .08.
He is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, vehicular homicide, aggravated assault by vehicle while under the influence, aggravated assault, drunken driving, operating a vehicle in careless disregard unintentionally causing a death, speeding, operating an ATV in a careless manner and operating an ATV on a street.
The following is taken from the affidavit:
An individual told a trooper Fleming was just starting to wake up and was bleeding from the head when he arrived. He became frantic and upset when a short time later he tried to check for a pulse on Boyd.
Another individual said she heard an ATV traveling south of Painter Lick Lane, turn around and begin “winding up to get going.”
When it went by her house a male wearing a baseball cap was driving it with a female wearing a hoodie behind him. She estimates they were traveling between 30 and 40 miles an hour.
After the ATV got out of sight, she said she heard a pop followed by three banging sounds so she got into her car and drove to that location.
Trooper Alexander Gregoire stated in the affidavit he was informed by Fleming’s attorney five days after the accident his client was asserting his Fifth Amendment right and would not answer any questions.
Gregoire said he observed a deceased deer at the scene and deer hair at multiple locations on the ATV. Neither Fleming nor Boyd was wearing a helmet, he said.
Fleming, a standout wide receiver at Southern Columbia High School, played three years at Ohio State before transferring to Penn State where he concluded his collegiate career in the playoff loss to Notre Dame in January.
He was selected by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent but was released when he failed his physical due to hip and back injuries.
Boyd, according to her obituary, expected to graduate in December from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
The Central Columbia High School graduate was described as a standout athlete having competed in soccer, basketball and track.