Stallworth injured in balloon accident

MIAMI – NFL free agent Donte Stallworth was hospitalized Saturday with serious burns after the hot air balloon carrying him and two other people crashed into power lines above South Florida, his agent said.

The 10-year NFL veteran won’t suffer any permanent damage from the accident in Homestead, said Drew Rosenhaus, Stallworth’s agent.

“He’s going to be OK. He has some burns, but he’s going to be fine,” Rosenhaus said. “He will be able to continue his NFL career.”

Rosenhaus said one of the passengers was Stallworth’s girlfriend, but he would not say whether she was hurt.

The basket carrying three hot air balloon passengers crashed into the power lines while airborne, according to Miami-Dade Police spokesman Roy Rutland.

Two passengers were injured and transported to a trauma center, Rutland said. A third passenger in the basket was not injured.

Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season after a car he was driving struck and killed a pedestrian in South Florida that March. He spent 24 days in jail for a DUI manslaughter conviction.