Madison Co., Ark. - Jessica Dorrell, 25, of Elkins, was riding on the back of a motorcycle with Arkansas football Coach Bobby Petrino when it crashed Sunday, an Arkansas State Police report released Thursday says.
Coach Petrino said Tuesday he was alone when he crashed his motorcycle on Highway 16 near the Crosses community in Madison County Sunday evening.
Contacted by telephone Thursday, Dorrell told 5NEWS, "I'm not ready to comment at this time."
On March 28, Dorrell was named a Student-Athlete Development Coordinator, according to a media release from the University. She's also a former member of the Razorback volleyball team.
Petrino wore a neck brace to the news conference which he said he is wearing because of the damage to his C2 vertebra. He also said he had a cracked or broken rib. Petrino says he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. The report says Dorrell was not injured.
The state police report states Petrino and Dorrell were not at the scene of the accident when the trooper arrived.
The two were picked up by an Ozark couple and their son who happened to drive by at the time of the accident. They dropped Petrino and Dorrell off at East Hunstville Road and Crossover in Fayetteville, the report states. Dorrell left in her personal vehicle and Petrino was taken to Physicians’ Specialty Hospital by Capt. Lance King with ASP, according to the report.
Petrino said he wasn’t speeding on the curves of the two-lane highway, but that the sun and a gust of wind may be to blame for the accident.
When asked if he had been given a blood alcohol test after the accident, Petrino said: "I was given blood tests, but I absolutely had nothing to drink. I spent the day at the lake with my wife working. She works me hard when I’m up there. But I absolutely had no alcohol in my system.”
Bill Sadler with Arkansas State Police told 5NEWS Thursday that Petrino was not given a blood alcohol test. According to Sadler, by law, officers are required to give a blood alcohol test if there is a fatality or imminent fatality in the accident. However, if not, it is up to the discretion of the officer on the scene. If alcohol use is not suspected, then the officer is not required by law to administer a blood alcohol test, Sadler said.
The report states no citations will be issued in the accident.