Jessica Dorrell and Trooper's Report Suggest Bobby Petrino Tried to Hide Affair
University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino is facing questions about his career as new details have emerged from his motorcycle accident last week linking him to a possible affair with a female football program employee who was his passenger during the crash.
The 51-year-old coach crashed his motorcycle near a small town east of Fayetteville, Ark., two weekends ago, when he veered off a two-lane highway. He was taken to hospital for treatment, but later on his family revealed that he is expected to make a full recovery.
However, new reports revealed that Petrino, who is married, had a passenger on his motorbike at the time of the crash – 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell, a football program employee who the coach hired for a position on May 28. In light of the details and a confession by Petrino that he had been involved in a "previous inappropriate relationship," Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long placed the coach on administrative leave, Lalate.com revealed.
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On Monday, Arkansas State Police released a report by Capt. Lance King, the state trooper who helped transport Petrino to the hospital, who said that he broke no laws and kept his superiors fully informed of his actions. King was informed of the accident by Troop L Sergeant Gabe Weaver, who arrived at the scene and could not immediately find the owner of the motorcycle, although a check of the license plate number revealed that it belonged to the Arkansas coach. King's phone call to Petrino was returned by an unidentified female who revealed that the coach was at a parking lot in Fayetteville and needed medical help.
The report continued that when King arrived at the parking lot, he saw a woman with blonde hair (presumably Dorrell) helping Petrino out of a Jeep Cherokee, but she did not appear injured. The Captain then drove Petrino, who was covered in cuts and bruises, to Physicians Specially Hospital in Fayetteville.
The following week, when Petrino was interviewed about the incident after his release from hospital, he was asked to provide the name and address of any passengers he had, based on a number of reports from eyewitnesses who claimed they saw a female passenger with him on his bike. Only then did Petrino share the full details of the crash and admit that Dorrell was with him at the time.
King insisted in his report that he did not withhold any information that could be seen as detrimental to Petrino, and was unaware of his link with Dorrell.
"I do not know Jessica Dorrell and I have never met her. Coach Petrino and I did not discuss any passenger information during transport to the hospital or otherwise. I have a professional relationship with coach Petrino and have never met with him or his family socially," King wrote. The captain's full report was made available online.
Long is expected to use this report in his review of the coach's position, and acknowledges that many Arkansas University fans are behind the coach and want him to stay in charge of the team. More than 200 Arkansas fans staged a rally on campus Monday night in support of Petrino.
"We're not condoning it," said Matt Couch, one of the organizers. "I wouldn't ask him for marriage counseling. But at the same time we're supportive of him and want him to do well."
