On April 1, 2012, Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in rural Madison County, near Crosses. After initially stating publicly that he was alone, both in a written press release and during a press conference, it was discovered in the police report of the accident that Petrino had been riding with a passenger, former Arkansas All-SEC volleyball player Jessica Dorrell. In his acknowledgement of the report, Petrino admitted to having engaged in a "previous inappropriate relationship" with Dorrell. As a result of this information, athletics director Jeff Long placed Petrino on paid administrative leave, pending an investigation. On April 10, 2012, after his investigation, Long announced that he had fired Petrino with cause, saying that Petrino "engaged in a pattern of misleading and manipulative behavior designed to deceive me and members of the athletic staff, both before and after the motorcycle accident." He also revealed that in addition to his previously-undisclosed personal relationship, Petrino had secretly paid Dorrell $20,000 and had used his influence to ensure that she was selected from an applicant pool of 159 people for a position on the football coaching staff. Long believed the payment could expose Arkansas to a sexual harassment suit if Petrino were retained. Petrino left Arkansas with a 34–17 record.