Phelps to be cited for expired driver's license

BALTIMORE (AP) - Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was driving with an expired, out-of-state license and told police he drank a beer about an hour and 15 minutes before he was involved in an accident, Baltimore police said Friday.

The accident Thursday night was not Phelps' fault, police said, and officers did not administer field sobriety tests because he showed no signs of being impaired by alcohol.

But the swimming star will be cited for driving without a license and failure to establish residency in Maryland, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The citation carries no fine, but Phelps will have to appear in court.

Phelps presented officers with a Michigan driver's license, according to a police report, and investigators determined that the license was expired after consulting with Michigan authorities. Phelps lived in Michigan between the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and moved back to his native Baltimore last year.

The driver of a Honda Accord, Amanda E. Virkus of Sandy Spring, ran a red light shortly before 9 p.m., and Phelps' Cadillac Escalade sport utility vehicle crashed into the driver's side of her car at the intersection of two one-way streets north of downtown, police said.

Virkus will be cited for failure to obey a red light and causing an accident. Those citations carry a maximum penalty of a $180 fine and three points on a driver's license, Guglielmi said.

Phelps' Escalade had a crumpled front hood after the collision, while Virkus' car had considerable damage to the front driver's side. Two parked cars also sustained minor damage, and one of them was occupied at the time, according to the report.

Phelps said in a statement to police that his right ankle hurt after the crash, but he did not seek treatment. His two passengers were uninjured. Virkus was treated at a local hospital for back pain and released. A woman sitting in the parked car was not hurt.

Onlookers quickly gathered after the crash and snapped photos of Phelps and his vehicle.

Phelps pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 2004, shortly after he won six gold medals at the Athens Olympics, and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.

Earlier this year, USA Swimming suspended Phelps after a British tabloid published a photo of him using a marijuana pipe. The Richland County, S.C., sheriff's office investigated the photo but found there wasn't enough evidence to charge Phelps, who apologized for his behavior.

Phelps has won 14 gold medals, including eight at last year's Beijing Olympics. He recently returned to Baltimore from the world swimming championships in Rome, where he won five golds and a silver.

Phelps' agent, Drew Johnson, and his coach, Bob Bowman, did not respond to repeated messages seeking comment.

John Cadigan, a senior coach with the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which is based at the swim center operated by Phelps and his coach, said Friday that Phelps was not expected to be back at practice until next week.

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Associated Press writers Kasey Jones and Aaron Morrison in Baltimore and Paul Newberry in Atlanta contributed to this report.