Professional indoor soccer player, Mathew J. Maher, of the Philadelphia Kixx was recently arrested and charged with drunk driving and allegedly causing the death of a Pennsylvania man on the Atlantic City Expressway earlier this month.
According to police, Maher, 24, of Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey, was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade eastbound shortly before 3 a.m. on March 7. The police report alleges that Maher, a defender for the Kixx indoor soccer team, was speeding and under the influence of alcohol when his vehicle rear-ended a Chrysler minivan being driven by Hort Kap, 55, of Philadelphia.
According to New Jersey State Police Sgt. Julian Castellanos, Maher’s Cadillac hit Kap’s Chrysler Town and County in the right lane, forcing the van into a guardrail, where it flipped and partially ejected its driver. Kap was pronounced dead at the scene. Police reported that Maher’s Escalade hit the guardrail with such force that one of the wheels separated from the vehicle and was thrown through the air some distance.
A former Temple University soccer star, Maher was initially charged with driving while intoxicated. Following the crash, he was given a field sobriety test and later had blood drawn at Kessler Memorial Hospital in Hammonton, where he was taken for treatment of his injuries in the accident.
Further investigation of the accident resulted in a charge of aggravated manslaughter being issued against Maher. If convicted of this first-degree offense, the young athlete could receive up to 30 years in jail, as well as being fined upward of $200,000. Maher was taken into custody March 20, after turning himself in to authorities.
Kixx player arrested for drunk driving death on NJ highway, NJ.com, March 20, 2009
Kixx player charged with DWI in Hamilton Township, NJ.com, March 10, 2009