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http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20121210-witness-josh-brent-abandoned-jerry-brown-rescued-him-after-being-begged.ece
Witness: Josh Brent abandoned Jerry Brown, rescued him after being begged
A woman who arrived on the scene moments after Dallas Cowboys Josh Brent and Jerry Brown Jr. were in an accident says Brent paced the side of the road until she begged him to intervene as his best friend and teammate screamed for help.
Stacee McWilliams of Irving said she repeatedly pleaded with Brent, whom she said she did not recognize, to rescue Jerry Brown Jr. from Brent’s 2007 Mercedes, which was upside-down and on fire on the service road of State Highway 114 near Loop 12 around 2 a.m. Saturday.
“Jerry was alive. He was hurt. He was calling out and his own friend walked away,” McWilliams said Monday.
Brent’s attorney, George Milner, said the woman’s account is not consistent with what police told him. “That is absolutely false,” Milner said. “What I’ve been told is that Jerry Brown was never conscious after the accident. … she better be careful with this one.”
Brown, 25, was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Dallas County medical examiner’s office said Monday the practice squad linebacker died after suffering injuries from blunt force trauma to his head and neck. The death was ruled accidental.
Brent, 24, a nose tackle, was charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and released on $500,000 bail Sunday. He once spent 30 days in an Illinois jail on a DUI charge.
A private memorial service for Brown will be held on Tuesday in Oak Cliff. Cowboys officials said Brent, who remains an active member of the team, is welcome.
McWilliams, who works in the claims department of an insurance company, said she was on her way home from her birthday party when she noticed the wreck and stopped. From the left lane, she said she called out to Brent, who was pacing in the grass near the right lane.
“I jumped out and ran out toward the wreck,” she said. “I yelled to him, ‘Are you OK? Are you OK?’ And he told me he was fine. I was relieved because I thought it’s just a single car accident, nobody’s hurt. And then fire sparked up from the car and got bigger and I started to hear screams.”
As the fire grew, she says she begged Brent to help Brown, the car’s passenger, whom she also didn’t know.
Brent “looked at me and said, ‘He won’t get out of the car.’ And I said, ‘Get him out of the car. You have to save him.’.”
She said she continued to plead, but Brent repeated that his friend wouldn’t get out. She ran to her car to get her phone. When she returned, Brown was lying in the middle of the far right lane and Brent had walked away.
“He didn’t say come on, hang in there, hold his hand,” she said. “That’s what upsets me the most at this point. He abandoned him.”
McWilliams said she believes Brent was in shock “because he is human,” but she said she still found his actions disturbing. “He may have been in shock, but he was very coherent at the time,” she said.
Late Monday, she said should could no longer discuss the case because Irving investigators asked her not to. Her Facebook posts about the accident were no longer visible late Monday.
According to Brent’s arrest affidavit, as officers arrived on the scene, “an individual was seen pulling another individual from the burning vehicle.”
Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said investigators are piecing together the events leading up to the crash.
Argumaniz said because the charge is related to a death involving alcohol, Brent will be required to get an interlock device on his vehicle. The device requires a person to breathe into it to determine their blood alcohol level before allowing them to drive.
The arrest affidavit said Brent “admitted to consuming alcohol at a club,” but he would not tell police the club’s name. Brent was given a blood alcohol test against his will, but the results have not yet been released.
Multiple reports say the men were partying with other Cowboys and celebrities. Officials with one club, Privae Dallas, issued a statement Monday expressing sympathy and said they are “fully cooperating” with investigations by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Irving police.
“Our hearts go out to Mr. Brown’s family and friends, and the entire Cowboys organization,” the statement said. “Privae Dallas is a club that offers its guests a special level of privacy and often caters to celebrities. The safety of our guests is very important to us.”
Privae is the VIP club located inside of Beamers, a sprawling urban club located on Composite Drive near Walnut Hill Lane, that features hip-hop and R&B music. During late night hours, it often attracts entertainers, athletes and other celebrities, who mix with the younger crowd.
The club has been the scene of several R&B concerts and celebrity parties, including events by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs during the Super Bowl festivities in North Texas.
The club promoted comedian Shawn Wayans as the headliner for last Friday night’s event. Party promoter Kimesha Jackson tweeted that 12 Cowboys — none of whom were named — were at the party and ordering numerous bottles of a popular champagne.
TABC spokesperson Carolyn Beck confirmed Monday that the agency is looking into the circumstances surrounding Brown’s death, specifically whether Brent was served alcohol after becoming intoxicated.
“We do it every time we are aware of an alcohol-related fatality,” Beck said. “It is routine and the fact that they are NFL players does not have any bearing on the investigation.”
TABC investigators can review nightclub security camera videos to aid in their investigation. A club responsible for serving alcohol to someone who is impaired by alcohol can be fined or lose its alcohol permit.
On Monday, Jerry Brown Sr. said he plans to attend the memorial service, but the shock of losing his son still “ain’t hit me yet.” He said his son told him he planned to come home to St. Louis in February and the family was looking forward to having a big party to celebrate.
“He was just like me,” Brown Sr. said. “He’s got two sisters and two brothers and he loved all of them. He was a good dude and that was my buddy.”
The elder Brown said he bears no animosity toward Brent, who also was his son’s roommate, and said he does not want the Cowboys to cut him.
“It’s just an accident that happened,” Brown Sr. said. “I’m not mad at him. I want him to be the best because Jerry would want him to be the best.”
When asked what he would remember about his son, Brown Sr. recalled their final phone conversation two weeks ago, when Jerry Jr. expressed his pride over joining the Cowboys.
“He said, ‘Dad, my dream is coming true.’ He was happy.”
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