Nine-time Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis was arrested for suspected drink driving after his sports car crashed in Los Angeles, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The accident occurred early yesterday morning on a south Los Angeles freeway.
Police said they "observed symptoms of alcohol intoxication" in the driver identified as Frederick Carl Lewis. Lewis, who was driving a 2004 Maserati, was not injured.
Lewis allegedly failed a series of field sobriety tests, said police officer Joseph Pace. He was arrested for driving under the influence. Lewis also later posted a blood-alcohol level above 0.08 percent - the state's legal limit, the police said.
Lewis had a glittering track and field career that spanned two decades and included Olympic gold medals in the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympics. He is one of three athletes ever to win the gold in a single event (long jump) four times.
The arrest came after a week of bad publicity for Lewis. Sports Illustratedmagazine named him as one of more than 100 United States athletes allowed to enter international competitions after allegedly failing doping tests.
The allegations came in documents released by former US Olympic Committee (USOC) anti-doping official Dr Wade Exum.
According to Exum's documents, Lewis was one of three eventual gold medallists who tested positive for banned stimulants at the 1988 Olympic trials in Indianapolis. It was claimed Lewis gave three urine samples containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine.
But officials on the current USOC dispute claims that results of drug tests were suppressed. Moreover, Lewis's lawyer said the athlete never took anything with the intent to enhance performance.