Ex-Ohio State and Penn State wide receiver Julian Fleming is facing several felony charges — including homicide — in connection with an ATV crash earlier this year that took the life of his 23-year-old girlfriend, Alyssa Boyd.
Fleming, 24, was arraigned Wednesday on charges that included homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault by vehicle in Bradford County (Pennsylvania) court.
According to state police, the former football player was driving an ATV on May 23 near the Pennsylvania-New York border when he hit a deer a little after 8 p.m. Boyd was pronounced dead at the scene, while Fleming was taken to a nearby hospital before being released.
Pennsylvania State Police said at the time that neither Boyd nor Fleming was wearing safety equipment.
Fleming was released on a $75,000 bond later on Wednesday, PennLive reported.
Court documents stated Fleming’s blood-alcohol level was .118, above the .08 legal limit in Pennsylvania, the outlet reported
According to a police affidavit, Fleming told state troopers he consumed five or six beers before the ill-fated ATV ride. The affidavit also stated that Fleming told another person at the scene he had been drinking.
Boyd’s online obituary stated she would have graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in psychology in December and that she was a standout athlete at Central Columbia High School.
Fleming’s attorney, David Bahuriak, told The Athletic that “our hearts go out to the family of the young woman.”
However, he insisted that there “was no crime.”
In comments to TMZ, Bahuriak added that Fleming had “lost the love of his life” and questioned the prosecution of his client, saying that it “does nothing to advance the interests of anyone.”
“In my view,” Bahuriak said, “the prosecution here took a tragic and unavoidable accident and turned it into a crime when the facts don’t support that. The facts don’t support criminal homicide.”
Fleming started his college football career at Ohio State in 2020 and spent four seasons in Columbus before transferring to Penn State. He appeared in 16 games in 2024, making 14 catches for 176 yards with one touchdown.
He was signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent but was cut shortly after when he failed a physical.
