College Football: Ohio State QB has license suspended
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó The NCAA is interested in Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryorís cars. The state of Ohio says he shouldnít be driving one.
Pryor was seen driving a sports car to a team meeting on Monday hours after coach Jim Tresselís resignation, even though his Ohio driving privileges have been suspended.
Pryorís driving privileges have been suspended for 90 days because he failed to produce proof of insurance when he was pulled over for a stop-sign violation on Feb. 19 in Columbus. Pryor received repeated requests to appear in traffic court to show that he had valid insurance before he eventually paid a $141 fine and court costs on April 2. But Ohio authorities say he has never produced proof of insurance.
Pryor is being investigated by the NCAA for the cars he has driven over his three years as a Buckeye, The Columbus Dispatch has reported. The newspaper also said NCAA investigators are looking into more than 50 vehicle transactions involving Ohio State athletes, their families and friends and two Columbus dealerships.
Said Lindsey Bohrer, a communications officer for the Ohio Department of Public Safety: ěOur records do not indicate that (Pryor) has driving privileges in Ohio.î
Pryor was photographed driving a used Nissan 350Z valued between $16,000 and $27,000 to and from the team meeting on Monday night. He drove the same car to a workout on Wednesday.
His driving suspension took effect on May 20 and runs through Aug. 18. To regain his driving privileges after that, he will need to pay a $150 reinstatement fee, get insurance and carry a special card for high-risk drivers signifying that the driver is covered by insurance.
Before Pryor could renew his license in any state, he would first need to take care of the non-compliance issue in Ohio. His license would be flagged through two systems which monitor problem drivers throughout the country.
Even though his driverís license is from Pennsylvania, where Pryor is from, the two neighboring states are among 44 members of a ěnonresident violator compactî which recognizes citations across state lines. So if he were to be pulled over in most places in the country outside of Ohio, the suspension would still be in effect.