CHP: Newport Football Star Was DUI at Time of Crash
Andre Stewart, the popular Newport Harbor High football player killed in a car wreck last month, was driving under the influence of alcohol and had traces of marijuana in his body when his vehicle slammed into a freeway guardrail, California Highway Patrol officials said Tuesday.
Toxicology results released by the Riverside County CHP office put Stewart’s blood-alcohol level at 0.09% at the time of the accident, just above the 0.08% at which California considers a motorist a drunken driver. It is unclear whether Stewart was also driving under the influence of marijuana, since traces of the drug stay in the body for days.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 29, 2000 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday June 29, 2000 Orange County Edition Metro Part B Page 4 Metro Desk 2 inches; 63 words Type of Material: Correction
Clarification--A story Wednesday about Newport Harbor High football player Andre Stewart said 0.08% is the blood-alcohol level at which California drivers are considered to be under the influence. While that is true for most drivers, 0.05% is the limit for those younger than 21, the California Highway Patrol said. Drivers younger than 21 can also be cited and lose their licenses for one year if found with blood-alcohol levels from 0.01% to 0.04%.
The events leading to the crash still can’t be determined because the only other passenger, Stewart’s younger half-brother, Lamar William, was asleep, said CHP Officer Dennis Welch. William suffered minor injuries.
“The exact cause of the collision, we can’t say,” Welch said. “We can only say that alcohol and cannabis were present at the time of the collision.”
Newport Harbor football coach Jeff Brinkley said he had no comment on the test results since he had not seen the toxicology report. Several of Stewart’s teammates also declined to comment.
The football star’s death in the early morning hours of May 14 put school on hold while Stewart’s friends, teachers and coaches mourned the loss of a popular senior described as friendly and outgoing.
Stewart, 18, was heading home after a party when his car hit a guardrail on the Pomona Freeway in Riverside County around 3:30 a.m. Stewart was ejected from the vehicle, and his half-brother later said Stewart was not wearing a seat belt.
Stewart and William commuted to school in Newport Beach after the family moved to Riverside County during Stewart’s senior year.
For several days after the crash, mourners flocked to a make-shift memorial site on the school’s football field.
Stewart’s mother, Sonja William, accepted a diploma on behalf of her son at last Wednesday’s Newport Harbor graduation ceremony. Stewart had planned to attend Saddleback College in the fall.
Sonja William could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
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