The vanity license plate that gave away Rex Ryan’s identity in alleged hit-and-run incident
The license plate on the pickup truck that Rex Ryan allegedly used to run over two people in Nashville last week contained an homage to his past as an NFL coach, one of his hit-and-run accusers told the California Post on Friday.
Michael Holland, an attorney, said that after Ryan purportedly struck into him and his wife on Nov. 5 when the two were trying to cross Broadway, he noticed a unique vanity plate on the 63-year-old’s ride.
“We took a video of his license plate,” Holland said. “His license plate is ‘HIT QBS’ and it’s a New York plate.”
Additionally, Holland said it was adorned with a New York Jets license plate holder — clearly visible in a photo that Holland shared with The Post.
Holland said he initially had no idea it was Ryan whom he was accusing of the hit-and-run, but after he studied the plate further, he connected the dots.
“I told police he kind of looked like the ex-Jets coach, but I didn’t even remember his name at that point in time,” Holland said. “And then I really looked at the license plate later, and the next morning I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, I think that really was him.’ And then we did some research and figured he lives in Nashville. I’m like, ‘That’s crazy.’”
Ryan allegedly ran over Holland’s and his wife’s feet and then left the scene following a brief confrontation, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department announced Wednesday.
Six misdemeanor warrants charging him with counts of leaving the scene of an accident, failure to give information/render aid, and failure to obey a traffic control signal were filed. Ryan turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday morning.
He was ultimately released on $6,000 bond and is now due in court for a hearing on Dec. 18. He has not yet publicly addressed the situation.
Holland, meanwhile, said he and his wife are still dealing with some painful aftereffects from the alleged run-in with the ESPN analyst.
“My wife has already lost one of her toenails,” he said. “I’m probably going to lose a couple of mine. Her leg is kind of scraped up … it hurt.”