Junior Seau Injured After Driving Off Cliff One Day After Arrest

On October 18, former star NFL linebacker Junior Seau was hospitalized with personal injuries afte driving off a cliff, less than nine hours after being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence.

Carlsbad, California police Lt. Kelly Cain said the 12-time Pro Bowler’s white Cadillac sport utility vehicle was discovered on the beach about 100 feet below the roadside. Cain said that it wasn’t a sheer cliff, but was a significant rough slope. Seau received transport to Scripps La Jolla Hospital in San Diego.

Oceanside police said that Seau’s 25-year-old live-in girlfriend told authorities that he had assaulted her during an argument at his home in Oceanside on the night of October 17. She appeared to have minor injuries, but didn’t require medical treatment.

The 41-year-old former linebacker was arrested outside his home approximately two hours after police arrived. He wasn’t home upon the arrival of authorities, but they asked him to return when he called his girlfriend.

Seau was released from San Diego County jail in Vista after posting bail.

Information about Seau’s condition was not immediately made available.

Seau was a star linebacker at the University of Southern California before being drafted fifth by the San Diego Chargers in 1990. He was a member of the Chargers’ 1994 Super Bowl team and was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2003.

After 16 seasons, Seau briefly left the NFL in August 2006, but signed with the New England Patriots four days later, playing for them for more than two seasons. He retired in 2007, but returned for the final four games in 2008. He played as a backup for seven games in 2009 before retiring again.