The DUI case against Tennessee Titans' tight end Brandon Barden has been dropped after the law enforcement officer who responded to the crash scene didn't appear in court, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reported Thursday.
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The case stemmed from a single-car crash on Feb. 23 in Lincoln County, Ga. Authorities said Barden was behind the wheel of a 2008 GMC Sierra when it hit a drain ditch, flipped over and landed on its side. Two passengers were in the SUV; they were not seriously hurt.
Deputy Christopher Treadwell said in his report that he could smell alcohol, but Barden refused testing, The Tennessean reported. Police charged Barden with several traffic violations, including DUI on refusal.
The court case against Barden was supposed to move ahead, but Treadwell didn't show up. That meant the case was dismissed.
"If the officer doesn't show for court, everything is dismissed," Debbie Pruett, of the Lincoln County probate office, told The Tennessean. "Brandon had an attorney and she requested it be dismissed for a lack of prosecution, and the judge had no bearing to change it. It's completely closed."
Why was the officer a no-show? Lincoln County Sheriff Bruce Beggs told Wyatt that Treadwell has since joined another department and there might have been a conflict of schedules.
