Tragedy has once again struck the National Football League less than a week after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher committed suicide after fatally shooting his girlfriend. Linebacker and St. Louis native Jerry Brown was killed after the car he was riding in with Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent struck a curb, flipped over and landed on its roof.
After arriving on the scene, police believed that alcohol could have been involved in causing the accident. Officers arrested Brent and charged him with intoxication manslaughter after learning that Brown had died. Police recently released the results of Brent’ breathalyzer test, which indicated that he had a .18 BAC at the time of the crash, more than double the legal limit.
The story is a sad lesson that underscores the dangers of drinking and driving.
According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report, Brown was a standout defensive lineman at Vashon High School, earning All-Metro honors during his senior year in 2005. He was ranked in the top five of the Post-Dispatch’s local college recruits. He was also a two-time Public High School League defensive player of the year.
As Brent’s teammate at the University of Illinois, then head coach Ron Zook believed that Brown was talented enough to win the Outland Trophy, awarded to the year’s best interior lineman. Unfortunately, Brown left the Illini after the 2009 season for academic reasons.
Brown had been on the Cowboys practice squad since late October. In his professional career, Brown played for Jacksonville and San Antonio in the Arena Football League and the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the CFL before briefly playing with the Indianapolis Colts.
Source: StlToday.com, NFL player from St. Louis killed in crash, December 9, 2012