PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio – Put-in-Bay police are investigating after an Arizona Cardinals wide receiver crashed his Camaro into Lake Erie on Saturday night.
Officers were called to Conlan Road in Put-in-Bay Township on South Bass Island after the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office reported that a vehicle had entered the lake.
Once at the scene, officers found an orange Chevrolet Camaro that had pulled away from the embankment and ended up in the lake. Witnesses told officials that the driver, later identified as Cardinals rookie catcher Jermiah Braswell, was still inside the vehicle trying to drive it, police said.
Witnesses also told police that before the accident, Braswell was driving at “very high speed” when he pulled off the road and entered a grassy area before flying from the embankment to the lake, according to police.
When officers approached the Camaro, Braswell was still in the driver’s seat trying to move forward. He told police officers that he was trapped and did not know what happened, police said.
As Braswell spoke to officers, they noticed that his speech sounded bad and he had no explanation for how he and his Camaro ended up on Lake Erie, according to police.
Braswell underwent field sobriety tests and was arrested for operating an intoxicated vehicle. Braswell’s portable breath test showed his blood alcohol content exceeded Ohio’s legal limit, police said.
Police said Braswell had no passengers in his vehicle at the time of the accident and that no one was injured during the incident, which is still under investigation.
Braswell, a Toledo native, was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent shortly after the 2020 NFL Draft. He played college football at Youngstown State University.
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