Brandon Spikes has had something of a tumultuous relationship with the New England Patriots ever since they made him the 62nd-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. From a sex tape to a performance-enhancing substances suspension, Spikes has seemingly made more headlines off the field than on during his five-year NFL career.
Spikes spent last season as a member of the Buffalo Bills, but recently returned to the Pats this offseason. Despite the happy reunion, that frosty relationship with the organization may again come to the fore as Jennifer Smith of The Boston Globe reports that State Police found a car registered to Spikes abandoned on the side of a highway in Foxborough early Sunday morning.
"Police were notified around 3:20 a.m. about a car abandoned in the median strip of Interstate 495 , State Police said. A representative of the OnStar on-board navigation system told police that the operator of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz Maybach reported hitting a deer, according to State Police spokesman David Procopio.
"Troopers responding to the stretch of highway found the luxury sedan, whose driver had left the scene, Procopio said Sunday afternoon. The Mercedes had damage to its front, and no evidence of a deer was found nearby, Procopio said."
A potential connection between the lack of a deer carcass and a reported rear-ending around the same time and in the same general vicinity has piqued the interest of police, according to Smith.
"Around the same time and near the same area of the interstate, the unidentified occupants of a 2009 Nissan Murano reported being rear-ended. The occupants - a 51-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman, and a 12-year-old boy, all of Billerica - were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Procopio said. They told police they did not see the other car, Procopio said."
Police are now investigating a possible connection between the two incidents, per Smith, though nothing definitive has yet been determined.
"We have not established at this point that the Mercedes struck the" Nissan, Procopio said, via Smith.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said that the team was aware of Spikes' whereabouts and that they were still in the process of gathering information.
"We are aware of the report and are looking into the matter, but I don't have any additional comment at this time."
UPDATE: The Patriots have released Spikes in the wake of the incident.