Derek Fisher After Crash, DUI Arrest: I'm Grateful No One Was Injured
LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A day after being arrested on a drunken-driving charge, former Knicks coach Derek Fisher said he was grateful no one was injured and vowed never to find himself in the same situation again.
Splash News caught up to Fisher and his girlfriend, Gloria Govan, as they were retrieving their vehicle from a valet outside Leo & Lily restaurant in Los Angeles.
"I think the most important part is that we're here and that no one else was injured," said the ex-Lakers star. "So from here just focusing on the positives of being here.
"Thankful and grateful for everyone's thoughts and prayers," he added. "Prayer is powerful."
Fisher declined to discuss the details of the incident.
Fisher, 42, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunken driving after he flipped his 2015 Cadillac on U.S. 101 in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles.
MORE: Schmeelk: Knicks' Trade Options — Some Good, Some Awful
He and Govan, a former "Basketball Wives" reality star, were not injured, the California Highway Patrol said.
The five-time NBA champ's car veered onto the right shoulder of the highway while approaching an interchange. The car hit the shoulder's concrete curb and guardrail, overturned and came to a rest on its roof, blocking two lanes of the freeway, the highway patrol said.
Officers discovered that the Fisher had been drinking and arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol after a DUI test, authorities said.
Fisher, a father of four, has been dating Govan, the ex-wife of Matt Barnes, his former Lakers teammate. In October 2015, the two men got into an altercation at Govan's Los Angeles home. Barnes was suspended two games without pay by the NBA for his part in it.
After his playing career ended, Fisher was hired in June 2014 to be the first coach hired by Knicks president of basketball operations Phil Jackson, under whom Fisher played.
Fisher's first season was the worst in franchise history with a 17-65 record, but the team played better early in Fisher's second season before Jackson fired him in February 2016 with the Knicks in a 1-9 tailspin.
He has been working as an analyst for TNT as well as for Spectrum SportsNet's Lakers coverage this season.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
