Browns defensive end Marcus Benard has been charged with driving under a suspended license and reckless operation after he lost control of his three-wheeled motorcycle Monday and hit a guardrail alongside Interstate 71, Brooklyn Police Sgt. Scott Mielke said Tuesday.
Benard is scheduled to appear in Parma Municipal Court at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 18. He suffered a broken hand in the crash and remained in stable condition Tuesday evening at the Cleveland Clinic, a Browns spokesman said.
Traveling north on I-71, Benard crossed four lanes before the front-right tire of his 2011 Can-Am Spyder hit a guardrail on the right side of the highway near West 65th Street, throwing him about 241 feet, according to the police report. After Benard was ejected, his motorcycle crossed four lanes and traveled about 687 feet before it came to a rest after striking a concrete median.
Benard, 26, was wearing a helmet, according to the report. He was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and later transferred to the Cleveland Clinic for further testing.
Mielke said police could not determine how fast Benard was going before the accident. According to the report, Benard told police he was traveling at the speed limit of 60 mph, but a witness told police Benard passed him at a high rate of speed before losing control.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which took place about 2:20 p.m., nearly two hours after the Browns wrapped up practice at their training facility in Berea.
Benard, the backup right end in the Browns’ 4-3 defense, has appeared in all four of the team’s games this season. He has three tackles, including one on special teams, and a half sack.
Last season, Benard had a team-high 7.5 sacks while playing outside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme employed by former Browns coach Eric Mangini. Benard, who is in his third season with the Browns, started two of the 15 games in which he appeared last season.
The Browns signed Benard in 2009 as an undrafted free agent out of Jackson State University. As a rookie, he played in six games and had 3.5 sacks.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at http://browns.ohio.com. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/browns.abj.
