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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin was involved in a car crash in Tampa today, suffering “minor cuts and bruises”, according to the Tampa Police Department. From the report, it appears the crash was not his fault.
On May 4, 2017 at approximately 1:15 p.m. Doug Martin was traveling eastbound on Azeele Street. The driver of a black Kia traveling southbound on Habana ran the stop sign and collided with Martin’s black BMW in the middle of the intersection. Martin’s vehicle was displaced from the roadway and hit an air conditioning unit outside of a local business. Martin received minor cuts and bruises as a result of the crash. Tampa Police officers responded to the scene and cited the driver of the Kia, Jake Balsay, for committing a stop sign violation.
Hopefully Martin is otherwise all right. The fact that we haven’t heard anything serious since the crash occurred three-and-a-half hours ago is a good sign.
The Bucs running back is trying to hang on to his roster spot after a poor 2016 that concluded with a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s PED policy, three games of which still have to be served.
The Bucs are in the middle of their offseason program, and start OTAs in three weeks. Martin’s participated in everything so far this offseason, and the Bucs have been very positive about his progress this year.
Update: The Bucs released the following statement on Martin’s car crash, which notes that he is indeed okay.
“Doug was the unfortunate victim in an auto accident earlier today after leaving our team facility. While Doug’s vehicle sustained a large amount of damage, we are pleased to report that he received only minor cuts and bruises. He has been evaluated by our medical staff and has headed home.”