"I SAW A CAR COMING AT ME, AND I SWEAR IT WAS BEING DRIVEN BY MARTHA FLEISHMAN, SO NATURALLY I GOT AWAY AS FAST AS I COULD."
PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Barrett Brooks was arrested early this morning after fleeing from police on his motorcycle. At 2:28 a.m., Brooks illegally passed a police car on the right, prompting Pittsburgh police officer Vic Cianca to activate the car's lights and siren. According to police, Brooks, who was not wearing a helmet, sped off on his motorcycle, running two stop signs.
Brooks was nabbed five blocks away, but claims he had no intention of fleeing from the police.
"You have to understand," Brooks told this news source, "there I was, riding [a motorcycle] without a helmet. Then I see this big car coming toward me, so I looked to see who was driving. I swear to you, it was Martha Fleishman! So naturally, I sped away as fast as I could."
Fleishman is the Squirrel Hill motorist whose car struck Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in June while he, too, was riding a motorcycle without a helmet. Legal experts anticipate that Brooks will utilize the "Fleishman Defense" in his trial on charges of fleeing from police.
