This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
Prince William County police arrested Virginia Commonwealth University’s athletics director for drunken driving over the summer after he crashed his Cadillac into a ditch near Gainesville.
Ed McLaughlin, the athletics director at the Richmond school, was initially charged with DUI June 5, the Richmond Times-Dispatch first reported Dec. 19, but the charge was later downgraded to reckless driving.
McLaughlin crashed his 2025 Cadillac Escalade into a ditch around 3 p.m. near Bristow Road and Wright Lane in Bristow, according to police records obtained by InsideNoVa.
He told police he was attending a golf tournament earlier in the day, according to the Times-Dispatch, which also noted he was wearing a VCU shirt during the incident.
A LIV Golf tournament was being held nearby that weekend at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville. The tournament’s first round didn’t begin until the June 6, but there were corresponding tournament events in the days prior.
Bodycam footage obtained by InsideNoVa showed a long line of backed-up cars along the roadway as law enforcement worked to clear the scene in the aftermath of the crash.
Police records note there was an odor of alcohol on McLaughlin’s breath and that he could not keep his balance. After officers arrived, McLaughlin told them he swerved after seeing what he thought was an animal in the road.
In a statement to the Times-Dispatch, McLaughlin said: “More than six months ago, I was involved in a one-car accident in which I was injured and taken into custody. I pleaded no contest to reckless driving. I deeply appreciate the overwhelming positive support that I have received since the accident.”
The charges were downgraded to reckless driving, to which McLaughlin pleaded no contest in November. He was sentenced to 30 days, though a judge suspended the full sentence. McLaughlin also pleaded no contest to a civil charge of refusing to take a breathalyzer, which carries a one-year license suspension.
