Ex-Yankee slugger Jim Leyritz, awaiting trial for a fatal drunken-driving crash, was hospitalized after threatening suicide when he failed a Breathalyzer test required to start his car, Florida cops said yesterday.
Read A Transcript Of The 911 Call
Read The Leyritz Police Report (PDF)
Leyritz told his ex-wife, “He might as well ‘end it,’ ” after the device indicated Wednesday he had been drinking, said Davie police Lt. Bill Coyne.
Leyritz, 45, could have face jailed for drinking in violation of his bail conditions, but a police spokeswoman said this morning that Leyritz blew a “negative.” She did not elaborate on what the exact results were or why the car failed to start.
He was released from a psychiatric unit at a local hospital yesterday, and returned to the Davie house he shares with his ex-wife, Karri Leyritz.
He’s “OK,” she said.
Leyritz’s hospitalization came after he phoned Azra Shafi-Scagliarini, a Fort Lee, NJ, woman known as a “psychic to the stars.”
She called Florida authorities because “he made statements to me that I could not ignore for his safety and the safety of his children,” she told The Post.
In her 911 call, Shafi-Scagliarini said Leyritz sounded liked he wanted to hurt himself and was “freaking out.”
Karri Leyritz told responding cops that her husband was deeply depressed and suffering from anxiety and “indicated that she has never seen Jim this upset and is concerned for his safety,” a police report said.
Cops then spoke with “a visibly upset” Jim Leyritz.
Leyritz said “he was under a lot of stress due to current legal problems,” the report said.
“Jim stated that he had not been sleeping and his problems seemed to be mounting up.”
Leyritz told them that when he tried to drive, the Breathalyzer, which controls the ignition, registered “a reading around 0.05” despite his claim that he had had nothing to drink, the report said. That’s below the minimum for DWI, but he’s barred from drinking at all.
“Jim said he is sure that the equipment malfunctioned because he waited five minutes and tried the device again. This time it gave him a reading of .000,” the report said.
“Jim identified to me that he would like to seek medical attention for his anxiety, stress and lack of sleep,” the officer’s report said. “Jim never indicated to me a desire to harm himself or others.”
Leyritz is charged with the 2007 death of waitress Fredia Ann Veitch in a two-car crash that occurred after he celebrated his 44th birthday. She also was drunk, cops said.
The 1996 World Series hero was arrested in mid-February after prosecutors said he had tried to drive at least four times after drinking.
But the judge freed Leyritz, saying he deserved “the benefit of the doubt.”