Nov 5, 2014 4 min read

A 22-year-old California University of Pennsylvania football player accused of brutally beating a man in an off-campus incident last Thursday also awaits sentencing for a hit-and-run crash in Washington, D.C., that put a bicyclist in a coma on New Year’s Day.

Corey Ford, one of six football players arrested in connection with the assault that occurred in front of Spuds restaurant in California, was charged by D.C. Metropolitan Police with aggravated assault for striking a bicyclist with his vehicle and leaving the scene. The impact put the victim in a coma for at least two months, according to the police affidavit.

Ford, of Harrisburg, pleaded guilty to the charge Sept. 2 and will be sentenced Dec. 2. He remains in Washington County jail on $500,000 bond in connection with last week’s assault of Lewis Campbell III, 30, of West Chester, who suffered a brain injury as a result. Campbell was released from Allegheny General Hospital Wednesday.

According to the affidavit, Ford was celebrating New Year’s Eve at a club in D.C. when he got a call from his girlfriend, who asked to be picked up at a hotel in the city. Ford agreed and borrowed a vehicle.

Police said surveillance tapes showed Ford driving a BMW at a high speed along M Street N.W. in the Georgetown section of the city shortly before 6 a.m., at which time he crossed into opposing lanes of traffic and collided head-on with a bicyclist in the left turning lane. The victim, Simon Pineda, hit the windshield and was thrown several feet into the air.

“The complainant’s body traveled upward, flipping end over end before falling to the asphalt,” according to the affidavit. “The complainant is observed in the video after impact lying motionless within the roadway.”

Police said Ford kept driving in the wrong direction along M street. Pineda was unconscious when first responders arrived, and he was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital in critical condition. He suffered facial injuries and fractures, was missing at least one tooth and had other fractures and abrasions on his body. At the time an arrest warrant was issued March 20 for Ford, Pineda was still in a coma and was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital in Arlington, Va. Police said the likelihood of his recovery was unknown.

Police stopped a vehicle matching the description of the BMW involved in the crash at 7:40 a.m. on 11th Street, and Ford and a female rear-seat passenger were inside. The vehicle had damage consistent with the BMW in the crash, and a human tooth was found on the rear exterior of the car.

Ford’s blood alcohol level was measured at 0.15 percent, nearly double the legal limit. He told police he drank two wine coolers that evening and had two beers after midnight. He reportedly said he had never driven in D.C. before and was unsure of where he was going.

“The defendant further stated that he was aware that he had hit something while driving the automobile,” read the police report. “The defendant states that he observed the damage on the vehicle but wasn’t sure what he had struck.”

Ford reportedly told police he stopped the car and briefly examined the damage, but did not see anyone or anything in the road.

Cal U. spokeswoman Christine Kindl and football coach Mike Kellar did not respond to calls seeking an explanation as to whether or not the university was aware of the pending charge against Ford, a starting defensive back who, along with the other five, was suspended from the team and the university following their arrests for the Oct. 30 assault.

In addition to Ford, Cal U. football players arrested and jailed in the assault were James Williamson, 20, of Parkville, Md.; Jonathan Barlow, 21, of Pittsburgh; Rodney Gillin, 20, of Reading; and D’Andre Dunkley, 19, of Philadelphia; and Shelby Wilkerson, 20, of Harrisburg.

Geraldine M. Jones, Cal U.’s interim president, announced Tuesday the university would conduct a “top-down review” of the football program, which also made news Monday night because the arrests of the six players brought the number of Cal U. football players with scrapes with the law to 27 over the past two years.