Author Topic: R.I.P. Darrell Russell (Read 117 times)

Perfection · « **on:** December 15, 2005, 12:55:28 PM »

Russell dies after speeding car hits busESPN.com news services

LOS ANGELES -- Former Raiders and Buccaneers & Redskin defensive lineman Darrell Russell has died in an automobile accident.

Russell and the driver of 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix died when the speeding car went out of control, sheared off a fire hydrant and ran into a parked bus shortly after 9 a.m. ET, accoring to Ron Myers of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The accident occurred on La Cienega Blvd. near Sawyer Street. The car left a 50-yard path of destruction, according to fire department spokesmen.

The Grand Prix apparently hit a curb, then ran over the hydrant and knocked over several news racks before striking Metro Rapid bus No. 717, which was out of service with its flashers on. The driver was standing outside the bus when the accident occurred. The car may have been racing another vehicle before the accident, according to an MTA spokesman.

It took paramedics 25 minutes to get both men out of the car. Both were taken to local hospitals in critical condition. The driver died shortly after arriving at UCLA Medical Center. Russell died later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Russell was suspended from the NFL for the seventh time in July for violating the league's substance abuse policy and was released from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was reinstated in August.

Russell missed 1½ years while serving two league suspensions before he played in eight games in 2003 for the Redskins.

He was the second overall player selected by the Raiders in the 1997 draft. The 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle played in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999.

Detective Mike Fischer of the West Traffic Division says the driver has not yet been identified.