COLUMBUS, Ohio — Authorities are investigating whether alcohol played a factor in a UTV crash that injured Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and one other man over the weekend.
Deputies from the Delaware County Sheriff's Office were called to a property on Perry Road in the area of Liberty Township, near Powell, around 1:20 a.m. Sunday for a report of a crash.
A statement from the Ohio State Department of Athletics said that Hartline, who the sheriff's office on Sunday confirmed was driving, sustained injuries in an accident on his property early in the morning. He and a friend, who is unaffiliated with Ohio State, were both taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Hartline was released from the hospital on Monday.
A potential charge of driving while under the influence of alcohol/drugs was listed in a redacted report on the incident.
Hartline's name does not appear on the redacted report from the sheriff's office.
According to the report, the passenger told deputies at the scene that he and another man, whose name is redacted, were the only two in the UTV and there were no other witnesses to the rollover crash.
A deputy stated he observed the other man's speech was "slow and slurred" when he talking to medics at the scene. The deputy's report said that man admitted to medics that he had been drinking that night.
The man whose name is redacted on the report was not able to be interviewed by the sheriff's office at the hospital as he was unconscious due to medication administered, according to the deputy.
The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff's office.
Hartline took part in Ohio State's spring game on Saturday.
The 36-year-old played for the Buckeyes and played for seven seasons in the NFL with Miami and Cleveland.
Hartline has been on the Buckeyes' staff since 2017 coaching wide receivers. He's been one of the nation's top recruiters, landing several prominent players including Garrett Wilson, the AFC Rookie of the Year with the New York Jets and current Ohio State All-American Marvin Harrison Jr.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day promoted Hartline to coordinator in January after Kevin Wilson left to coach Tulsa.