accountability

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was driving a Lamborghini involved in a multi-vehicle crash over the weekend, his lawyer said Thursday.

Rice’s attorney, Royce West, said during an afternoon press conference that Rice has answered every question asked to him by Dallas police, including, if he was directly involved.

“Mr. Rice acknowledged that he was driving the Lamborghini, that was the question that was asked,” West said. “He responded to that. That he was driving the Lamborghini.”

On Wednesday, Rice apologized to those affected by a high-speed crash over the weekend in Dallas and said he takes “full responsibility for my part in this matter.”

Rice posted the apology on Instagram, marking his first public comments on the incident.

“Today I met with Dallas PD investigators regarding Saturday’s accident,” the post said. “I take full responsibility for my part in this matter and will continue to cooperate with the necessary authorities. I sincerely apologize to everyone impacted in Saturday’s accident.”

West, who is also a Democratic state senator whose district includes part of the Dallas area, stressed on Thursday during the media briefing that his client is 23 years old and should not be judged based entirely on one incident.

He added that Rice intends to make right with the victims for their injuries and any property damage he may have caused.

“But for the grace of God, someone could have been injured, I mean, seriously injured. He understands that and appreciates it,” West said of Rice.

West continued, “That’s why he wanted to come out and say that he’s going to be responsible for making certain the victims are made whole as best possible.”

Dallas police spokesperson Kristin Lowman confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that investigators have spoken with Rice and his legal counsel. The investigation is ongoing, Lowman said, and witnesses and victims are still being interviewed.

Detectives are working to determine exactly what happened, who was involved and how, Lowman said.

The crash involved two luxury sport cars and its occupants walked away from the scene, authorities said.

Officers were called to North Central Expressway in Dallas at 6:25 p.m. Saturday after two speeding drivers lost control and crashed, “causing a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles.”

Police told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday that the drivers were in a Corvette and a Lamborghini and that the Lamborghini veered onto the shoulder and hit the expressway’s median wall.

The newspaper reported that one of the cars is leased or registered to Rice and that a Dallas police call sheet seen by the newspaper lists Rice as the person who authorities believe was behind the wheel of the Corvette.

“The occupants of the Lamborghini and the Corvette all ran from the scene without stopping to determine if anyone needed medical help or providing their information,” police told the news outlet.

Two people were treated at the scene, and two others were taken to a local hospital, police said.

A lawyer for luxury car rental business The Classic Lifestyle told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth the Lamborghini SUV involved in the crash belongs to the local Dallas-based company.

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“Classic Lifestyle leased the vehicle, the 2021 Lamborghini Urus that was involved in the accident,” attorney Kyle Coker said. “And we had an agreement with Mr. Rice in order to provide that lease. And under our contract, it was supposed to be the only one driving the vehicle.”

Coker also told the news outlet, “In the past, Mr. Rice had rented at least several vehicles. There were never any driving citations or accidents related to that.”

“The issue that we have right now is we’ve got a totaled vehicle, and we haven’t heard back as to who’s going to pay for that vehicle,” he said. “And I understand, there’s, you know, kind of speculation back and forth as far as who’s driving. It doesn’t matter. I mean, we’re looking for accountability and to make sure that our business is made whole here.”

Video posted on social media by Kayla Quinn, who said she was in one of the cars that was hit, appears to show the damage to the driver’s side of her vehicle. A Facebook post from someone who said she is Quinn’s mother said Quinn’s 4-year-old son was in the car.

Attorney Marc C. Lenahan is representing one of the victims of the crash and helping a second, he told NBC News earlier this week.

“From their perspective, they were just driving along,” Lenahan said. “One of them was headed to dinner with friends and family at 6:30, like most of us were on a Saturday night before Easter with, you know, people in town.”

That’s when they saw “a flash” behind them, he said.

“And then all of a sudden, they’re spinning and getting T-boned,” Lenahan said.

Rice was drafted by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft and was part of the team’s Super Bowl win in February. He grew up in the Dallas area.

Antonio Planas

Antonio Planas is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.