Former Hog Pierce apparent drunk driver in fatal wreck
January 1st, 2009 ║ Posted By: MrSEC.com ║ Permalink
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Mark Pierce, a former Razorbacks fullback who had discipline problems while in Fayetteville, was apparently arrested Monday night on suspicion of intoxication manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid in Fort Worth, Texas.
Police would not provide identifying information to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram when asked for more info concerning the 26-year-old man who was arrested, but public records searches and news reports matched the former Razorback’s information, according to a report.
Former Arkansas fullback Mark Pierce, shown here in an Aug. 11, 2003 photo, was apparently arrested Monday night in Fort Worth, Texas, after he was suspected of driving drunk and striking a van that killed a Burleson, Texas man. (TIMES Photo/Andy Shupe)
If the information is correct, Pierce, who left Arkansas after his junior year to pursue an NFL career that never happened, is suspected of driving drunk and striking a van driven by a Burleson, Texas man. The man, Lance Shetler, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene near an airport in south Fort Worth, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Here’s more from the report:
Pierce fled on foot but was caught about an hour later, according to police.
Pierce was driving a Chevrolet TrailBlazer that his mother had reported stolen from her Burleson home, according to Lt. Paul Henderson, a Fort Worth police spokesman.
Alcohol containers were in the TrailBlazer, and Pierce showed signs of intoxication, said Sgt. Rodney Bangs, a police supervisor.
Pierce, 26, was thought to be driving to his mother’s house when he crossed into on-coming traffic and crashed into the van head-on, according to CBS11. Shetler, reportedly, was heading home from work.
Pierce was taken to the John Peter Smith Hospital, but police would not confirm Pierce’s whereabouts or condition Tuesday night, according to the Star-Telegram. A search of inmates on the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Web site did not provide a result on Pierce Wednesday morning.
Pierce, according to records, now lives in Vicksburg, Miss.
Pierce was dismissed from the Arkansas team after the final regular season game of 2003. Then-coach Houston Nutt did not explain the reasoning for the dismissal. Earlier in the pre-season, Pierce was arrested in the early morning hours of Aug. 31, 2003 on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental operations following a run-in with Fayetteville police outside a club on Dickson Street. He allegedly shouted profanities at officers while they questioned one of his friends, Razorback softball player Stephanie Hunter.
Pierce was also suspected of beating up a man outside Wedington Liquor Store in Fayetteville earlier that night on Aug. 30, and a warrant was issued later stemming from the occurrence for a third-degree battery charge.
Pierce failed to appear at a court hearing to face the three misdemeanor charges on Feb. 11, 2004.
Pierce had a history of personal matters that affected him greatly on the field. Pierce’s father, Rick Pierce, died unexpectedly in his sleep Dec. 2, 2002. The news of his death came just days before the Hogs’ appearance in the SEC Championship in 2002.
Pierce also took a leave of absence from the Razorbacks in July 2003 to deal with “emotional problems,” according to Nutt. In January 2004, after leaving the team to pursue an NFL career, his agent, Jason Medlock of Houston, dropped Pierce as a client because he created “problem after problem,” according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
In March 2004, a report surfaced of a Mark Pierce being stabbed to death by four men in Fort Worth, Texas. At the time, Pierce’s age matched the man who was killed, and because his hometown of Weatherford, Texas was so close to Fort Worth, rumors spread that it was the former Razorback. That, however, was not the case.
I’ll update when more information becomes available on this tragic story.
– Brandon Marcello
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