Rex Ryan surrenders on 6 warrants in Nashville pedestrian case
Police allege the former Jets coach struck two pedestrians with his pickup and drove away; both suffered minor injuries.
Former NFL coach and ESPN analyst Rex Ryan surrendered to Nashville police Wednesday morning on six misdemeanor warrants alleging he struck two pedestrians with his pickup truck and drove away.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department charged Ryan, 63, with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to give information or render aid, and failure to obey a traffic control signal. He faces two counts of each charge.
Court records show that all six charges are misdemeanors. Ryan’s bond was fixed at $6,000 by a judicial commissioner, police said. He was released after booking, the New York Post reported, citing jail records.
Police said both pedestrians suffered minor injuries in the incident, which occurred shortly before midnight on Nov. 5 at 4th Avenue and Broadway in downtown Nashville.
"The pedestrians were crossing Broadway from 4th Avenue with a walk sign when the pickup truck turned right from 4th Avenue running over both victims' feet and making contact with one of the individual's legs," the department said.
The pedestrians told police the truck continued until a red light stopped it at Broadway and Representative John Lewis Way, where they waved down its driver. Police said Ryan was behind the wheel.
"They said he stepped out of the truck to argue with them, got back in, and drove away," the department said.
The pair photographed the driver and the truck’s license plate, according to police. Police said the plate was registered to Ryan.
Ryan coached the New York Jets from 2009 to 2014. Under Ryan, the Jets reached the American Football Conference Championship Game in consecutive years after the 2009 and 2010 seasons. He went on to coach the Buffalo Bills for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
After his coaching career, Ryan joined ESPN as an NFL analyst, working on programs including the pregame show "Sunday NFL Countdown." His father, the late Buddy Ryan, was a former NFL head coach and coordinated the 1985 Chicago Bears defense.
Ryan has a court appearance scheduled for next month, The Associated Press reported. Court records did not name an attorney for Ryan, while a number believed to belong to him played an automatic outgoing message and did not accept a message. It was not immediately known whether Ryan has legal representation or will enter a plea.
