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WATCH: Kindle may not face charges in crash

06:18 PM CDT on Monday, June 29, 2009

By JIM BERGAMO / KVUE News

Austin police are still investigating a case involving a UT football player who has admitted to crashing his car into a West Campus apartment complex.

Video

KVUE's Jim Bergamo reports

> More Local Video

The accident happened early last Wednesday morning when a car crashed into a Jefferson West apartment on Rio Grande near 27th shortly before 2 a.m.

"I feel so bad for the people that live in there because it just smashed right into their apartment," said Rachel Riley who lives in the complex.

"They got lucky in that no one got hurt," said Madeline Bowen who also lives in the Jefferson West Apartments.

The only person who did get hurt was the man behind the wheel -- University of Texas Linebacker Sergio Kindle, who reportedly suffered a concussion when he hit his head upon impact. Kindle told his attorney he was driving to his West Campus apartment when he became distracted by a text message.

"When he did so, the front left tire hit the curb and that caused him to lose control," said Brian Roark, Kindle's attorney.

Kindle's car then struck the building.

Reporter: Did Kindle go in and check to see if anybody had been hurt or anybody had been inside?

Roark: He did not, but if the front of his vehicle had literally ended up in someone's living room and he's sitting there looking at all their stuff then yeah, anyone would be required to stick around and make sure that no one was hurt, that is simply not the case.

Reporter: Why wouldn't you call police right then and there if didn't have anything to hide?

Roark says you're not required to. He says if a driver crashes into a stationary object and no one is hurt, the law only requires the driver to provide his name, contact and insurance information to the owner of that object within a reasonable amount of time. The Jefferson West apartment management was notified at 10:30 Wednesday morning.

"Only eight hours went by and they certainly didn't think that was inappropriate at all," Roark said.

APD has cell phone video from witnesses showing Kindle and some friends moving the car back onto the street. Roark says he hasn't been told why his client and friends then moved the car a short distance away. Kindle was convicted of a misdemeanor DWI last year.

"He told me he had been texting and not been drinking and I believe that and there's nothing else that I've learned that makes me think differently about that,

I'm proud of him, and I think he did the right thing, I think he did everything within a reasonable time, and I don't think charges should be filed, I don't think he did anything criminal, bottom line," Roark said.

An APD spokesman said while the investigation into the accident continues, the only charges Kindle is likely to face would be leaving the scene of an accident. However the APD spokesman added those charges could be mitigated since Kindle's lawyer did contact the apartment complex and offer to pay for the damages which total approximately $8,700.