Video shows Jets pick Herndon was blitzed after DWI wreck
TMZ Sports has obtained police body-cam and dashboard footage from Jets tight end Chris Herndon's DWI arrest last month in New Jersey, and it is not pretty.
The first video shows officers arriving at the crash scene early on the morning of June 2, and Herndon's overturned Nissan Armada is visible.
The second video shows police speaking with Herndon, who, while leaning on the guardrail on the side of the highway, claims he only had two glasses of wine before taking the wheel. Herndon reportedly blew a .14 blood-alcohol level when police administered the test — nearly twice the legal limit.
Later in the video, police lead Herndon through a field-sobriety test. The 22-year-old former University of Miami standout was unable to put one foot in front of the other and walk in a straight line. After failing the test, police can be seen placing handcuffs Herndon and arresting him.
According to police, Herndon, who the Jets drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in April, was driving west on Route 80 at 4:45 a.m. when he slammed into a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by 76-year-old Albert Elliott. At the time of the crash, Elliott was towing a trailer, police said.
In the body-cam footage that folon lows the initial dashboard video, Elliott's yellow Toyota can be seen with significant damage to the outside. The trailer is also battered. The officers then interview a man in a green shirt, presumably Elliott, who says he was driving the Toyota in the right-center lane when he heard commotion.
“I thought I blew a tire,” the man said. “I see s--t flying.”
The man said his car started spinning but he was able to get it under control and pull it over to the side of the road.
“He must have been going 100 f---ing miles (per hour),” the man said.
Both Herndon and Elliott escaped the crash without any significant injuries.
Herndon refused to elaborate on any details of the incident when he spoke with the media in Florham Park three days after his arrest — though he did have a message for Jets fans. “That's not who I am,” Herndon said. He's due in court next month, according to TMZ.