Kimball Tells Police He Drank Before Accident

Olympic diver Bruce Kimball told police he had been drinking before his sports car crashed into a group of teen-agers near Tampa, Fla., early Tuesday, but officials said Wednesday they have not concluded that the accident that killed two and injured six others was alcohol-related.

Kimball, 25, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and released on $10,000 bond. An arrest affidavit filed by deputy Eugene D. Van Der Wall said that Kimball admitted drinking “at least four beers” before the accident.

Kimball, a silver medalist in the 1984 Olympic Games, was given a blood-alcohol test, but authorities said it may be several days before the results are available from a state laboratory.

“We said originally it was possibly (alcohol-related),” said Jack Espinosa, Hillsborough County sheriff’s spokesman. “But how much is the question. That’s what the blood-alcohol test will tell us. How much, and whether alcohol was the cause.”

According to police reports, the former University of Michigan star lost control of his car as he drove down a dead-end road and ran through a crowd of 30 to 40 teen-agers gathered at a meeting place called “the spot.”

Police estimate that Kimball was traveling between 70 and 90 m.p.h. when his car hit at least three parked cars and plowed into the teen-agers who were sitting on the cars or standing in the street.