Watching Friends Die Haunts UK's Watts

by Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press

from The Paducah Sun, Friday, March 26, 1999

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn.--The University of Kentucky football player who was driving the car in which two friends died still blames himself for the deaths.

"The mental and emotional scars will last forever," Jason Watts said Thursday in his first public comments since the accident November 15.

The accident Nov. 15 killed teammate Arthur Steinmetz, 19, and Eastern Kentucky student Scott Brock, 21.

"I literally see my buddies dying in my arms because of me," Watts said.

Watts, 21, of Ovieda, Fla., faces a July 19 trial on two counts of second-degree manslaughter and a count of wanton endangerment. He is scheduled for a court appearance Wednesday.

He chose to speak about the crash to students at Southern Adventist University, about 18 miles north of Chattanooga, as part of the school's drug and alcohol awareness week.

Watts, who was Kentucky's starting center, said he hoped someone will learn from his tragedy.

"It's all because of a stupid mistake," he said. "Drinking beers and getting behind the wheel is something that could've been avoided."

Watts, who has been dismissed from the Kentucky team, spent Saturday night drinking with his friends. The celebration was fueled by Kentucky's 55-17 Senior Day victory over Vanderbilt, which earned the Wildcats a berth in the Outback Bowl.

But by early morning, they became bored and decided to hunt deer.

Watts was driving his truck on U.S. 27 when it slipped off the roadway as he passed a car, clipped a mailbox and blew out a back tire.

The three men said nothing to each other, knowing they were about to crash, Watts said. The truck flipped, throwing all three out of the vehicle. Watts went through the windshield, bending his steering wheel.

When he came to, he went first to Brock who gave him a half-smile before dying. He then tried to shake awake Steinmetz, only to have him die in his arms.

"Because of my poor judgment, my two buddies were gone," said a soft-spoken Watts. "When you think about it, I should've been the first one to go. Getting in that car that night was a mistake."

With his friends dead, Watts said he wanted to die as well and even tried holding his breath in the ambulance.

At the hospital, his blood alcohol content tested 1 1/2 times the legal limit. He had a 12-inch gash on his right arm that wound up requiring surgery several times. He also had cuts on his left shoulder and back that required stitches and staples in addition to injured ribs.

Watts had been in trouble before while drinking.

He shot then-teammate Omar Smith in the buttocks in 1997, and had a blood alcohol level of 0.129 percent two hours after the shooting. He was charged with unlawful discharge of a weapon.

He met with the Brock family before leaving the hospital in Lexington and was shocked that they greeted him with a hug and forgave him for his part in the crash. He finally spoke with the Steinmetz family recently and was again surprised that they also forgave him.

"You almost want them to be mad at you because it will make the guilt easier," Watts said.

"It's rough, but it's nowhere near as rough as it is on the families," he said.

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