Ohio State coordinator Brian Hartline was drinking before crash, sheriff's report says
Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline admitted to drinking before he crashed an all-terrain vehicle on his property in Delaware County early Sunday morning, according to a case report released by the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.
The report said the 36-year-old told medics that he had been drinking earlier that night.
Deputies were dispatched to the scene of the accident at 1:22 a.m. in response to a 911 call placed by his sister, Jaimie.
Hartline and another man identified as Joshua Gaylor, who was riding with him in the vehicle, were taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital. An Ohio State spokesperson on Monday afternoon said Hartline had been released and since returned home.
A statement from the school said the injuries sustained by Hartline were not life-threatening.
No sobriety test done at scene of rollover accident
The report does not mention how much Hartline had been drinking. Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, said a field sobriety test was not conducted at the scene because treating Hartline's injuries and getting him to the hospital took precedence.
Hartline’s name in the report is redacted as the sheriff’s office is conducting an investigation following the crash, but he had previously been identified by authorities as the driver of the ATV and indicated in a tweet he was operating the vehicle before it rolled over.
In a 911 call, a dispatcher asked Jaimie if Hartline and Gaylor had been drinking prior to the accident.
“Yes, they have,” she said.
She did not provide a description of the injuries or accident, saying she was not at the location of the crash, but rather that she had been asked to call 911 by her friend's husband.
Several people, including Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye, were identified in the report as witnesses, though only Hartline and Gaylor were riding in the ATV.
The officer who conducted the report said they attempted to interview Hartline while he was in the hospital overnight, but he was unconscious while on medication. The report noted his room had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.”
A former wide receiver for the Buckeyes, Hartline has been on staff since 2017, and the fast-rising assistant coach was elevated to offensive coordinator in January.
The promotion put Hartline in place to possibly call plays for the offense this fall as coach Ryan Day considers delegating those responsibilities for the first time.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OSU's Brian Hartline was drinking before crash, sheriff's report says
