Senior running back Shadrach Thornton has been dismissed from the NC State football team after his arrest Tuesday night, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
Head coach Dave Doeren released the following statement regarding Thornton’s dismissal.
“It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances, but we’ve decided to dismiss Shadrach from our program,” Doeren said. “We will continue to support him academically and help him earn his degree.”
The dismissal came in light of an incident in which Thornton was driving a scooter and hit pedestrian Jimmie Woodard at the intersection of Avent Ferry Road and Western Boulevard at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday night. According to police, Thornton was driving north on the sidewalk of Avent Ferry Road while Woodward was walking south.
Woodward did not sustain any serious injuries, but a wound on his face required stitches. Woodward said he was waiting for a bus when he was hit.
“The next thing I know, I see a motor scooter coming my way, and I just got hit,” Woodard said to WRAL. “I was aware because I saw blood on my shirt.”
Woodard said that Thornton did not stay to help him. However, Lee Turner, Thornton’s attorney, claims that Thornton talked with Woodard before leaving the scene.
“I understand that he was polite, cooperative and gave officers a full statement about what happened,” Turner told WRAL. “I understand that after the accident he did have a conversation with the victim before leaving the scene.”
Police found 22-year-old Thornton in his nearby apartment at College Inn. He was charged with failing to stop and render aid and failure to provide information. Additionally, he got a traffic citation for driving on the sidewalk and operating an unregistered vehicle. Thornton paid a $500 bond and was released and back home just after midnight.
This is the fifth time Thornton has been in trouble with the law and/or team. In the summer of 2013, he was charged with assaulting a female after witnesses said that he engaged in a physical altercation in the D.H. Hill Library. Thornton’s prosecution ruling was deferred, and he missed one game of the 2013 season.
Then, Thornton was cited twice for marijuana possession in December 2013 and March 2014. Charges were voluntarily dismissed in each case.
To start out the 2015 season, Thornton was suspended for the first two games for violating team rules.
After the incident occurred Tuesday night, Thornton showed up and participated in the following practice Wednesday morning. His dismissal was announced about 4:30 p.m. that afternoon. According to sophomore fullback Jaylen Samuels, the coaches did not bring up the incident during practice.
“In practice, [Thornton] did a couple reps,” Samuels told WRAL. “I don’t know the full situation or what happened. Nothing was said. We saw [that] it [happened]; we just knew about it. But we didn’t know exactly what happened.”
Thornton will continue his pursuit of a degree at NC State, and he is set to graduate spring 2016.
In his four years with the team, Thornton tallied 513 carries for 2,572 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 30 carries for 203 yards this season. Junior running back Matt Dayes is set to take the feature role at the position in light of Thornton’s dismissal. On the year, Dayes has 76 carries for 454 yards and nine touchdowns.
Although Thornton’s presence on the field will be missed, his latest run-in with the law was the final straw for the football team.
