Former NFL cornerback Deltha O’Neal has been charged with a DUI in connection to a high-speed car crash in August that left him and a passenger seriously injured according to USA Today. O’Neal, 42 had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 in a crash that left him with a concussion, broken ankle and internal injuries. The former Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos player’s blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit in Florida.
O’Neal was driving a 2009 Mercedes-Benz and lost control of the vehicle. The car hit a curb, flew into a utility pole and split in two. Along with O’Neal being injured, the passenger, Joseph Babcock, suffered internal injuries. Five days after the crash, O’Neal told investigators he didn’t remember who drove as he drunk an “unspecified amount of beer at a bar” that night. On the other hand, Babcock told investigators O’Neal was the one who drove and he got up to as much as 100mph. Babcock is now suing O’Neal.
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Drafted by the Broncos in the first round back in 2000, O’Neal is from California and played college football at Cal-Berkley. He had such a strong career with the Golden Bears he was named to the school’s Hall of Fame.
“A consensus first-team All-American in 1999 as a cornerback and return specialist, Deltha O’Neal was named the 1999 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and recipient of the 1999 Pop Warner Trophy as the top senior on the West Coast,” his biography said. “Cal’s all-time leader with 4,998 all-purpose yards, he intercepted a school-record nine passes as a senior and established the Cal career mark for interception return yards with 356. He also holds Cal records for career punt-return yards (1,169), punt returns in a season (42, 1999), career kickoff returns (99), career kickoff return yards (2,472), kickoff return yards in a game (186 vs. Navy in the 1996 Aloha Bowl), career kickoff return TDs (2), and season (61) and career (209) combined kickoff and punt returns. His career kickoff return average of 24.9 ypr is second all-time behind Isaac Curtis.
“O’Neal finished with 11 career interceptions, returning five for TDs, and he led Cal in scoring as a senior with 36 points, all on defensive or special teams scores.”
O’Neal played in the NFL from 2000-2008 and was named to the Pro Bowl twice. His best season was the 2005 campaign as he intercepted 10 passes and defended 20 passes as a member of the Bengals. O’Neal also spent time with the New England Patriots in his final NFL season.
