MIAMI –
Haywood Highsmith of the Miami Heat was ticketed for careless driving, police records show, after he crashed into a man who was trying to assist the driver of another disabled vehicle stopped in the road.
The injured man, police said, needed a partial amputation of a leg and had other fractures and possible fractures. He was trying to push the vehicle out of the way of traffic when Haywood drove into him, police said.
Highsmith told police that the vehicle being pushed did not have any lights on. Police said Highsmith was traveling at about 45 mph in a 40 mph zone.
Police said Highsmith was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol and was uninjured. Highsmith was going home after Miami’s game against Orlando on Tuesday night when the accident happened, around 11:20 p.m.
Highsmith was not with the Heat for their game Wednesday night against San Antonio. The team said he was out for personal reasons.
It is unclear when Highsmith will return to the team, which does not play again until facing Boston on Sunday. “Our hearts go out to those who were injured,” the team said in a release Wednesday.
Highsmith is averaging 5.8 points this season.
