SANTA ANA, Calif. – A former NBA star was charged today with hit and run with property damage for driving the wrong way on the freeway and causing a crash. Dennis Keith Rodman, 55, Newport Beach, is charged with one misdemeanor count of hit and run with property damage, one misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle across a dividing section, one misdemeanor count of giving false information to a police officer, and one misdemeanor count of driving a motor vehicle without a valid license. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of two years in county jail. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 20, 2017, in Department C-54, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The time is to be determined.

At approximately 12:30 a.m. on July 20, 2016, Rodman is accused of driving a sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound carpool lane on Interstate 5 near Main Street in Santa Ana. The lane bears concrete dividing walls on either side. Rodman is accused of driving head-on toward a sedan, causing the driver of the sedan to swerve and crash into a dividing wall to avoid contact with the defendant's vehicle. The victim called 911 and California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers responded to the scene. Rodman is accused of failing to exchange information with the other driver and fleeing the scene prior to CHP's arrival.

CHP identified Rodman during the course of their investigation. The defendant is accused of giving verbal false accounts to investigating officers.

Deputy District Attorney Gautam Sood of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 16CM10636 / November 21, 2016