2 Detroit Lions practice-squad members involved in crash; woman hurt

A Detroit Lions practice squad member drove through a non-working traffic light in a Downriver suburb and broad-sided another car, seriously injuring the 32-year-old Dearborn driver, Taylor Police said today.

The driver, identified in police reports as Angela Marie Chantelois, suffered head injuries in the Nov. 17 accident.

Brandon Hepburn, a rookie linebacker for the team, is likely to be cited in the accident.

Hepburn and another practice squad member, Xavier Proctor, were in Proctor’s 2005 Nissan Altima driving back from Pittsburgh, where the Lions lost to the Steelers earlier in the day. That was also the night powerful wind storms wracked southeastern Michigan.

At 10:12 p.m., Hepburn was driving north on Allen Road approaching Northline when his vehicle broad-sided Chantelois’ 2002 Chevy Cavalier.

A Taylor police officer was at the intersection at the time of the crash and had noted the traffic light was not working. According to a report, the officer was stopped on the opposite side of the intersection and used her vehicle’s spotlight as a warning to Hepburn’s car, which was approaching “quickly.”

Hepburn told an officer the next day that he’d been traveling about 45 mph and acknowledged not stopping before entering the intersection, even though he saw the traffic light wasn’t working, according to reports.

The Nissan Altima crashed into Chantelois’ driver’s side, and his car spun 180 degrees. Hepburn later told police he wasn’t injured, and he immediately checked on Chantelois, whose car had been forced into a third vehicle. Proctor told police he was sleeping in the front passenger seat and did not see the crash. It doesn’t appear anyone else was injured.

An ambulance took Chantelois to Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, but she since has been transferred to another facility.

Hepburn and Proctor, both 23, declined to comment today after Lions’ practice. They are members of the Lions’ eight-man practice squad and have not played in a game this season but practice with the team.