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LIVERPOOL soccer star Steve Finnan has been arrested on suspicion of killing a pensioner by dangerous driving.
Defender Finnan - a member of the hero squad who triumphed over AC Milan in last month's Champions League final at Istanbul - is alleged to have hit Henry Nelson while driving his Range Rover.
Mr Nelson, 81, had head and leg injuries. He died in the Royal Liverpool Hospital five weeks after the incident in January.
Irish international Finnan, 29, stopped at the scene and spoke to police officers. But he was not held at the time.
Yesterday police confirmed he was arrested in April and freed on bail to the end of this month. A file on the case has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Merseyside police said: "A 29-year-old man was arrested on April 11 on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after a traffic collision on January 27.
"He was bailed pending further inquiries to appear at a police station on June 29."
The player's alleged involvement in the tragedy was only revealed after an inquest into the death of Mr Nelson opened at Liverpool coroner's court yesterday. The hearing was adjourned.
Finnan is believed to have told other Liverpool players about the crash and is known to have been shocked when Mr Nelson died.
The Limerick-born player, who has won 38 international caps for his country, started his career as a schoolboy player at Wimbledon.
After being released by the club he almost quit the game to join his family's building firm.
But, after a rethink, he joined non-League Welling United for just £90 a week. He went on to join Birmingham and Notts County before arriving at Fulham under manager Kevin Keegan where he stayed for five years.
Finnan was a member of Ireland's 2002 World Cup Squad. He joined Liverpool from Fulham in a £3.5million transfer in 2003.
In last month's epic Champions League final - which Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties after the teams were level at 3-3- he played for the first 45 minutes before being taken off with an injury at half-time.
Before the clash, he said: "It's a hell of a contrast from my time in non-League football.
"It was a big letdown to be released by Wimbledon. It leaves you completely gutted because, as everyone knows, when you're at school you set your heart on something. And I wanted to be a footballer.
"So I'll always be grateful for Welling. I knew it was my last chance to try to make it as a player.
"If it hadn't worked, I'd have joined the family building firm. I could have started as a brickie or whatever.
"A lot of us at Welling had been previously released by league clubs and there was a great bond between us."