Redskins' Haynesworth Accused of Road Rage in Reston

Fairfax County Police have obtained a warrant on simple assault charges for Redskins defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth after an incident this week near Reston Town Center.

Haynesworth, 29, has not been arrested, but will turn himself in on Feb. 11, Reston District Station spokesman T.J. Rogers said.

 But Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, told The Washington Post there was no assault and the allegations were "ridiculous."

"Albert has yet to speak to the authorities at all on this matter," said Speck. "So only one side of this story has been told at this point in time. If contacted by the authorities, Albert will certainly cooperate in any way. This man, who actually provoked the situation himself, recognized Albert and is now simply trying to turn it into his 15 minutes of fame and get, we can only assume, some money. Albert did not assault this man and looks forward to his day in court to refute these ridiculous allegations."

The  incident occurred Wednesday morning when a 38-year-old man driving a 1994 Honda Civic and another driver, allegedly Haynesworth, were both driving south on the Fairfax County Parkway. The driver of the Civic told police he felt that a pickup truck following behind him was tailgating, and issued a "non-verbal hand gesture" to the pickup driver.

The incident occurred about 9:15 a.m.,  near New Dominion Parkway by the entrance to Reston Hospital Center. The vehicles stopped at a light. The pickup truck driver (allegedly Haynesworth) emerged from his vehicle, had a brief exchange of words, and struck the Civic driver. The pickup driver returned to his truck and drove away. The Civic driver told police he thought it might have been Haynesworth. Police conducted an investigation.

ESPN.com identified the Civic driver as Joel Velazques, 38, of Leesburg.

Velazques told ESPN the man he recognized as Haynesworth got out of a Ford truck with Tennessee license plates. Velazques said Haynesworth came to the driver-side window of his car, and after Velazques rolled down his window, Haynesworth said to him twice, "You're not so tough now," and then punched him in the side of his nose, ESPN reported.

Velazques said he followed Haynesworth but lost him along the way. He told ESPN he called 911 and gave a statement to a Fairfax officer.

Fairfax Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Ian M. Rodway said an officer assigned to the incident compiled a photo lineup and showed it to the man, who identified Haynesworth as his assailant.

Velazques said he was treated at a local hospital, where it was determined he suffered a contusion to his nose but it was not broken.

Simple assault in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in a county jail and a $2,500 fine.

"If this weren't [Albert Haynesworth], this wouldn't be that big a deal," said Rogers.

In the fall, the Redskins suspended Haynesworth, who has a $115 million contract, for four games for conduct detrimental to the team. Part of that conduct: he reportedly called in sick to practice after patrons of Reston Town Center's saw him drinking there late into the night before.

Haynesworth has had other driving incidents. In December 2008, he pleaded guilty to driving 103 mph in a 70-mph zone near Nashville. Four days after that plea, he was speeding in a Ferrari on the same stretch of Interstate 65, when he reportedly swerved across two lanes and slammed into another car, driving it into the concrete median.

The driver of the other car, Corey Edmondson, was seriously injured and needed a hip replacement. He has filed a civil suit against Haynesworth, which is pending.