Attorneys release interview with Seahawks FB Derrick Coleman after alleged hit-and-run crash in Bellevue



BELLEVUE, Wash. -- Bellevue police say Seahawks player Derrick Coleman was speeding at a high rate of speed when he hit a Honda Civic Wednesday evening in Bellevue.

The impact so powerful it forced the Honda up an embankment where it flipped on to its roof. Police say a male driver of the Honda was seriously injured. Witnesses told detectives that Coleman did not check on the injured driver but he took off instead.

A picture of the aftermath shows Derrick Coleman's Dodge Ram on its side and a Honda rolled over along SE 36th Street.

“Witnesses were reporting that one of the individuals involved in the collision was fleeing on foot from the scene,” Bellevue Police Chief Stephen Mylett said.

Detectives found the Seahawks player two blocks away standing along SE 37th street, barefoot.

“It`s a significant distance away it took officers several minutes to locate him,” Mylett said.

Police say Coleman cooperated with an officer who approached him.

Three witnesses positively identified him as the man who left the crash scene. One of the witnesses told detectives he had helped Coleman out of the car after the crash.

“All I can say is that there was enough there to get a DRE out there to do a sobriety test,” Mylett said.

Police would not say what evidence caused them to call for a drug recognition expert except to say there was enough at the scene to call for one.

Police performed a standard sobriety test and Coleman provided a blood sample three to five hours after he was arrested.

Coleman's agents released a statement saying the 24 year-old starter may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

Coleman’s attorney also says the football player was not impaired during the accident. Stephen Hayne released a video of him interviewing Coleman several hours after the crash.

In the video, Coleman says he had not taken any drugs or alcohol before the incident. His attorney also asked him to count backwards and say the alphabet.



Attorney Stephen Hayne says he rarely releases videos, but he believes the video will help exonerate his client.

When asked why Coleman took off, Hayne says Coleman may have suffered a concussion. He says Coleman was disoriented causing him to wander away from the scene.

The Seahawks on Thursday suspended Coleman indefinitely.

“It’s an unfortunate situation I really don't know anything about it that`s all I can say about it,” quarterback Russell Wilson said.

But many people are talking about it. Darin Hill snapped pictures of the aftermath.

“If you walk away its curious to everybody else why did you walk away what's your problem what do you have to hide,” Hill said.

Signed by the Seahawks in December 2012, Coleman has essentially been deaf since the age of 3. He is the author of a book called “No Excuses: Growing Up Deaf and Achieving My Super Bowl Dreams” that was published this summer.

Seahawks fans say they are disappointed to hear a player who has overcome adversity is now in legal trouble.

“I was shocked because its Derrick Coleman, Derrick Coleman gives us the image that he’s a nice wholesome guy,” said one Seahawks fan.

Coleman could face felony charges of vehicular assault and hit and run. He remains behind bars until his court appearance on Friday.