LARGO, Fla. — University of Miami linebacker Adarius Hayes was arrested Friday in connection with a crash that authorities said left two children and a woman dead back in May.
Investigators said Hayes, 20, turned himself in to the Largo Police Department on Friday and was transported to the Pinellas County Jail.
Jail records show he is facing three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of reckless driving with serious bodily injury. His bond information wasn’t immediately available.
Police said the crash occurred May 10 around 1:43 p.m. at the intersection of Orange View Drive and Ridge Road.
They said Hayes was driving a Dodge Durango at a high rate of speed and made “aggressive maneuvers” through traffic shortly before colliding with a 2017 Kia Soul.
Police said two children in the Kia, 10-year-old Jabari Elijah Solomon and 4-year-old Charlie Herbert Solomon Riveria, were ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Kia’s driver, 78-year-old Gail Price, was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and died the next day, according to investigators. They confirmed that 58-year-old Herbert Riveria, who was sitting as the front passenger of the Kia at the time of the crash, survived with serious injuries.
The Largo Police Traffic Homicide Unit investigated the crash, reviewing video surveillance and eyewitness accounts.
Investigators said Hayes changed lanes rapidly and dangerously, crossing three lanes multiple times without signaling. They said the vehicle was traveling nearly 71 mph five seconds before the crash and accelerated to nearly 79 mph in a 40 mph zone.
“Hayes’ egregious speed, aggressive and reckless lane changes, and complete disregard for surrounding traffic conditions demonstrated a willful and deliberate disregard for the safety of others, constituting reckless driving. These actions directly led to the tragic deaths of the three victims,” police wrote in a news released obtained in a news release.
Hayes, a sophomore at the University of Miami, was a highly touted linebacker coming out of Largo High School. ESPN ranked him the nation’s 78th-best overall player and the sixth-best linebacker in the 2024 recruiting class.
Authorities confirmed that the investigation into the case is “active and ongoing.”
Miami Athletics released this statement to Local 10 News on Friday regarding Hayes’ arrest:
“Following the charges issued today by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, student-athlete Adarius Hayes has been indefinitely suspended from all athletic related activities per athletic department policy.”
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