BOSTON — Former New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes was cited by state police Friday for rear-ending another vehicle on a Massachusetts highway then leaving the scene.
Spikes, 27, is accused of leaving the scene of an accident causing injury, speeding, driving negligently and failing to stay within marked lanes.
He will be summoned to Wrentham District Court at a date to be determined.
Spikes’ luxury Maybach was found abandoned in the median of Interstate 495 in Foxborough at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday with heavy front-end damage. At about the same time, police responded to a report that a Nissan Murano SUV had been struck from behind by a vehicle that left the scene. Three members of the same family from Billerica, including a 12-year-old boy, were treated at the hospital for minor injuries.
“The charges against Spikes are the result of a comprehensive investigation that determined that Spikes’ Maybach was the car that struck the Murano and that Spikes was driving the car at the time of the crash,” state police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.
The Patriots cut Spikes on Monday.
Neither Spikes nor his agent have commented. A phone message left with his agent Friday was not immediately returned.
Just before Spikes’ car was found by state troopers, the driver reported through the car’s navigation system that it hit a deer. No deer was found.
Spikes was drafted by the Patriots in 2010 in the second round out of Florida, spending the first four years of his career with New England. He spent last season with the Buffalo Bills before re-signing with the Patriots last month.
In 66 career games he has 384 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
PATRIOTS: New England signed Matt Flynn to shore up the quarterback position with Tom Brady facing a four-game suspension.
That suspension could be reduced after Brady’s hearing with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on June 23, but Flynn provides depth at a spot where the Patriots only have second-year pro Jimmy Garoppolo.
The Patriots signed Flynn one day after releasing quarterback Garrett Gilbert, a sixth-round pick last year by the St. Louis Rams who was added to New England’s practice squad on Dec. 17.
Flynn was a seventh-round draft pick by Green Bay in 2008 and made his first NFL start on Dec. 19, 2010, against New England. In 51 NFL games, seven of them starts, Flynn has completed 219 of 357 passes for 2,541 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
BUCCANEERS: Tim Wright is back with Tampa Bay, claimed off waivers a day after he was released by New England.
The Buccaneers traded Wright to the Patriots before last season in exchange for Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins.
Last season for New England, Wright made 26 catches for 259 yards, and scored six times.
COWBOYS: Dez Bryant is considering sitting out the team’s season opener if he doesn’t reach a desired long-term deal, according to an ESPN report that cited anonymous sources.
Bryant is unhappy the team slapped him with the franchise tag at $12.8 million for next season, and he only made a brief appearance during organized team activities earlier this month.
JETS: The team signed veteran tackle Charles Brown, adding depth to the offensive line.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Brown was a second-round draft pick by the Saints in 2010 and played in 37 games for them, including 22 starts, from 2010-13. Brown played in two games with the Giants last season, but was waived in November.
FORMER DOLPHIN Will Allen and his business partner, Susan Daub, were in federal court in Fort Lauderdale Friday to face charges they ran a $31 million Ponzi scheme to defraud investors who thought they were financing loans for pro athletes.
Allen, 36, and Daub, 55, are each charged with one count of securities fraud. Prosecutors say they set up a business called Capital Financial Partners to provide loans to athletes who were waiting for their contracts to kick in during the offseason.
The charges were filed in Boston, where the victims reside.
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