Former NFL quarterback Tyler Thigpen fell asleep at a Wendy’s Drive Thru and was arrested for DUI on Sunday morning.
Thigpen has not appeared in a regular season NFL game since 2012 and was signed by the Cleveland Browns this past offseason only to be released in August.
Myrtle Beach Online passes along the following detail of Thigpen’s arrest.
According to a S.C. Highway Patrol incident report, Horry County police officers who were responding to a call at the BP gas station at U.S. 17 Bypass and 10th Avenue North saw a black Cadillac sport utility vehicle pull up to the nearby Wendy’s drive-thru. After about 20 minutes, Horry County police noticed the truck hadn’t moved.
The officers approached the Cadillac and saw that Thigpen was asleep in the driver’s seat with his foot on the brake. Horry County police said it took several minutes to awaken him. When they did, Thigpen told police he was confused, didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there, according to the report.
We can only assume that the teams who previously signed Thigpen had the same reaction once they realized he was on their roster.
Thigpen refused to take three field sobirety tests and later refused a brethalyzer test at a Myrtle Beach jail. Thigpen was released on a $1,000 bond on Sunday.
An attorney for Thigpen released the following statement.
“My client, Tyler Thigpen, is extremely cognizant of the gravity of the allegations against him,” McCoy said in an emailed statement. “My client and I look forward to this case taking the standard procedural avenues through our justice system with the same benefits and due process afforded to every other American citizen.”
Thigpen appeared in parts of 29 games as an NFL quarterback seeing a career high 11 starts with the Chiefs in 2008 in which he threw for 2608 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. For his career he threw for 3222 yards, 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.