December 21, 2024

UFC’s Desmond Green facing traffic, drug charges prior to involvement in tragic crash

Desmond Green (right) was involved in a fatal crash Saturday.
 Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Desmond Green was facing several driving-related charges before his involvement in a fatal crash Saturday, per Broward County (Fla.) public court records.

The UFC fighter was involved in a minor crash just two weeks before the tragic one that occurred over the weekend and was cited at the time for driving with a suspended or revoked license and without proof of insurance. In April, Green was pulled over and later charged with marijuana possession and driving with expired tags.

MMAjunkie was the first to report the information.

Green, 28, lost control of his SUV early Saturday morning, veering into the path of a tractor-trailer, which caused a crash involving three other vehicles in Davie, Fla., per a press release courtesy of Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Alvaro Feola. Local 10 was the first to report the incident.

Two women — Emelina Morfa and Emma Suarez Hernandez — were killed in the crash. The driver of the car they were in, Mily Vita-Vega, was seriously hurt, per Feola. Green and Armando Alvarez, who was driving another vehicle, suffered minor injuries.

On April 20, Green was pulled over in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and found to have expired tags. The officer said in the incident report that he smelled cannabis in the vehicle. Green admitted to having marijuana and mushrooms in the SUV, the officer said. A K-9 unit was called and marijuana and mushrooms were found in clear plastic bags inside Green’s shoe on the passenger side. The amount of marijuana was less than 20 grams, per the incident report.

On Aug. 2, Green was in a minor vehicle accident in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He was cited by police afterward for driving with a suspended or revoked license and not having proof of insurance.

All of these charges remain pending and Green could be facing new ones following the fatal crash over the weekend. The traffic homicide investigation into what caused Green’s SUV to swerve is still open, Feola said.

Feola said the investigator has 90 days to complete a report and the toxicology results remain pending. Those two factors, Feola told MMA Fighting, will determine whether or not Green will be charged with a crime.

Green is scheduled to fight Mairbeck Taisumov at UFC Moscow on Sept. 15 in Russia. The New York native, who trains at Combat Club in Florida, snapped a two-fight losing skid when he defeated Gleison Tibau at UFC Utica in June.

The UFC has yet to comment on Green’s situation. A request for comment from Green wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.

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