NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 10, 2007) -- The drunken-driving charge against Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was dropped because a related DUI charge against his brother-in-law was reduced to reckless driving.
McNair was a passenger when Nashville police stopped his pickup truck May 9 for speeding. The former Tennessee Titan was charged because police said McNair allowed his vehicle to be driven by someone who was inebriated, brother-in-law Jamie Cartwright.
Cartwright refused to take a breath test and was charged with drunken driving. Police said he acknowledged drinking two beers, smelled of alcohol and failed a field sobriety test. Cartwright will serve two days in jail within a month, pay a $350 fine and attend DUI school.
Because Cartwright's DUI charge was dropped with his plea bargain, the charge against McNair was dismissed. McNair was in court when Judge Bill Higgins dismissed his charge.
"He tried to do the right thing, what he thought was the right thing in this situation, without knowing that it was a violation of Tennessee law," said his lawyer, Roger May.
May said McNair is now clear on Tennessee's DUI laws.
"He is not an individual I think will be in trouble again," May said.
McNair was arrested on DUI charges once before in Nashville in 2003, when he also was charged with illegal gun possession. But a judge dismissed those charges a year later, ruling police didn't have sufficient reason to pull over McNair.
