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Car registered to Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes found abandoned Patriots release Brandon Spikes after car found abandoned
(about 5 hours later)
Massachusetts State Police were investigating after a damaged car belonging to the New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes was found abandoned in the median of Interstate 495 early on Sunday morning. The New England Patriots released linebacker Brandon Spikes on Monday as authorities investigated whether his Mercedes was involved in an accident. The car was found abandoned in a highway median near where three people were hurt in a vehicle that was rear-ended.
The 2011 Mercedes-Maybach was found with front-end damage at about 3.30am in Foxborough, after the operator via the OnStar onboard navigation system reported hitting a deer, state police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement. It was not clear who had been driving. While it was not clear who had been driving, the operator of Spikes’ 2011 Mercedes Maybach reported through the car’s OnStar navigation system that it hit a deer, Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement. The car was found at about 3.30am on Sunday with front-end damage in the median of Interstate 495 in Foxborough, near Patriots team headquarters.
“Whoever had been driving it was no longer at the scene,” Procopio said. “Investigation indicates the Mercedes is registered to Brandon Spikes. No deer was located.”“Whoever had been driving it was no longer at the scene,” Procopio said. “Investigation indicates the Mercedes is registered to Brandon Spikes. No deer was located.”
A short time later, troopers responded to a report that a Nissan Murano, also on I-495 in the same area as the abandoned car, had been rear-ended by a vehicle the occupants did not see. Three people – a 52-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy, all from Billerica – were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, authorities said. Around the same time, troopers got a report that a car in the same area as the abandoned car had been rear-ended by a vehicle the occupants did not see. Three people – a 52-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy, all from Billerica – were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, authorities said.
Police said they had contacted Spikes and were investigating if the incidents were related. No connection had been established and no charges had been filed. No connection was immediately established and no charges were filed. Police said they had contacted Spikes and were investigating whether the incidents were related.
Phone and email messages left on Monday with Spikes’s agent were not immediately returned. Phone and email messages left with Spikes’ agent weren’t immediately returned.
“We are aware of the report and we are looking into the matter, but I don’t have any additional comment at this time,” Patriots spokesman Stacey James said. Spikes’ release is his second troubled parting from the Patriots.
Spikes was drafted out of Florida by the Patriots in 2010. He spent the first four years of his career with the team before playing last season with the Buffalo Bills. He re-signed with the Patriots last month. He was placed on injured reserve on 6 January 2014, in his fourth season with the team and before its first playoff game, after playing with an injured knee during the season. He questioned the decision and the Patriots didn’t re-sign him when he became a free agent. He spent last season with the Buffalo Bills after signing a one-year contract.
“It’s just great,” Spikes said upon joining Buffalo. “[To] be somewhere I’m wanted – that was the whole thing for me.”
On 18 May this year, he returned to the Patriots under a one-year deal to shore up a linebacking corps hit by injuries. Dont’a Hightower may not be ready for the season following shoulder surgery after New England’s win over Seattle in the Super Bowl, and Jerod Mayo played only the first six games last season before a right knee injury that required surgery.
“It just feels great to be home and I’m happy to be there,” Spikes said on 29 May, during the Patriots’ organsed team activities. “I’m here to work and make this ballclub. It’s that simple.”
He didn’t want to discuss his previous stint with the team that drafted him in the second round out of Florida in 2010.
“You can clearly see that me and the Hoodie [coach Bill Belichick] kissed and made up,” Spikes said. “I’m here. That’s in the past and I’m moving on. “
A strong defender against the run, Spikes has played 66 NFL games with 384 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, seven forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.