UPDATE (10:14 a.m. EST): The Pats have released Spikes after news of his involvement in the investigation broke.
#Patriots have released LB Brandon Spikes.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 8, 2015
New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has been named the primary suspect in a Massachusetts hit-and-run investigation.
According to ESPN, Spikes told an On-Star operator that he had hit a deer while driving his 2011 Mercedes Maybach on 1-495 early Sunday morning, but when police found the vehicle, there was no deer in-sight. On the other hand, they discovered that the family of a 51-year-old Massachusetts man had been sent to the hospital after their vehicle had been struck from behind, shortly before Spikes’ On-Star call. Authorities state that while there was significant damage to the front of Spikes’ Mercedes, no charges have been officially filed.
After he won two BCS National Championships as a member of the Florida Gators, the Patriots drafted Spikes in the second round of the 2010 Draft. He played the first three years of his career in New England but spent 2014 with the Buffalo Bills before re-signing with the Patriots during the 2015 off-season.