Major League Baseball

Report: Leyritz blames victim in crash

Published Dec. 8, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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Ex-Yankees slugger Jim Leyritz blames his victim in the fatal 2007 crash that led to him being sentenced to a year of probation for drunk driving, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"My life was dragged though the mud because I was a Yankee. I got tried because I'm an athlete! There was a good chance I was innocent!" Leyritz, 46, said during an extraordinary series of telephone interviews, spurred by a Post column in which he was described as a "degenerate."

Leyritz, who played 11 major league seasons, was enraged at an arresting officer and investigator involved in the incident and said of the cops, "I'm gonna make them lose their jobs."

But he saved his most pointed barbs for his victim -- a mother who died as she headed home from work in Florida at 3 a.m. three years ago, her Mitsubishi Montero struck by Leyritz's Ford Expedition as he left his birthday party.

"There was no reason for her to be in the intersection at 50 miles an hour, with a .18 blood-alcohol level, her husband bombarding her with text messages. Probably what happened is she got distracted," he said.

Prosecutors alleged at trial that Leyritz ran a light after downing the equivalent of 11 to 12 shots of alcohol.

They could not prove the light was red, and Leyritz refused a Breathalyzer test at the scene of the crash.

His blood-alcohol level, three hours later, stood at .14. That suggested it could have been as high as .19 -- far over the .08 legal driving limit -- when he got behind the wheel.

Originally charged with manslaughter, Leyritz was convicted by a jury last Thursday of misdemeanor driving under the influence, and a judge sentenced him to probation.

Leyritz, who admitted only that he "had a drink and a shot before getting behind the wheel," insists he was not drunk.

"At the time of the accident, the alcohol had not gone into my system yet," he said.

Leyritz hit a crucial home run for the Yankees in the 1996 World Series, helping the Bronx Bombers score a victory over the Atlanta Braves.

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