New York Giants star David Diehl was busted on suspicion of drunken driving Sunday after he crashed his luxury ride into multiple parked cars in Queens, cops said.
Big Blue’s stalwart offensive lineman wrecked his car about 8:20 p.m. in Astoria after hanging out at a local bar to watch the Croatian soccer team beat Ireland 3-1 in the European Championship tournament. No one was injured in the smash-up.
“The officers suspected he was intoxicated,” a police source said.
Diehl was taken to a police station, where he failed a Breathalyzer test, registering a .18, several drinks above the legal limit of .08, another cop source said.
Formal charges were pending early Monday morning.
Prior to the crash, a fan posted a photo (below) of Diehl, who has boasted of his Croatian heritage, wearing the Croatian soccer team’s red-and-white checkered jersey.
“Gooooooaaaaalllll!!!!!" Diehl tweeted twice, and then fired off another tweet in celebration of the win.
The tweeter who posted the pic of a ruddy-faced Diehl said he was celebrating at Scorpio Cafe & Bar in Astoria, which is a mere five blocks from the crash site at Broadway and 31st St. One of Diehl’s pals had earlier given him a Twitter shout-out, telling the soccer-loving football stud to have fun at Scorpio. Police confirmed he was hanging out at a local bar.
The 6-foot-5, 304-pound quarterback-protector was driving alone. He was arrested at the scene.
The Giants had no immediate comment. Diehl’s agent, Peter Schaffer, declined to comment on the player’s arrest, but called Diehl “one of, if not the classiest, most humble ... New York Giants ever.”
Diehl has been a fixture on the G-men’s offensive line since he was drafted out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL draft.
He started all 16 games as a rookie, and has started in every game he’s played in his nine NFL seasons. He’s proven to be one of the Giants’ most versatile and durable players, playing three different positions along the O-line and starting in 140 games.
Diehl, who made the Pro Bowl in 2009, has two years remaining on a six-year, $31 million contract he signed in 2008.
A drunken driving arrest is a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy and its personal conduct policy, so Diehl could be facing a fine or a suspension.
The incident, as a matter of procedure, would be reviewed by the NFL Commissioner’s office. Since this appears to be his first offense of any kind, a suspension is unlikely.
Diehl is also known as a Giant with a big heart for kids. Just last week he attended the Samsung Hope for Children gala in Manhattan, an annual fund-raiser for several charitable groups, including the Boomer Esiason Foundation.
Earlier on Sunday, Diehl tweeted that he was at a charity golf tournament in Westchester for a boy named Alex, who was born a quadriplegic.
“Today I watched him walk 100 steps on his own,” Diehl tweeted about Alex. “When you think things are tough or impossible, think of Alex.”
By Sarah Armaghan, Ralph Vacchiano AND Bill Hutchinson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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