Ex-Raider Russell dies in crash
Ex-Raider Russell dies in crash
/ FOXSports.com
Posted: 20 minutes ago
Former NFL defensive lineman Darrell Russell was one of two people killed in a violent car accident Thursday morning in Los Angeles.
Russell was a passenger in a car that apparently lost control and hit a curb, then ran over a hydrant and knocked over several news racks before striking a bus, which was out of service with its flashers on.
Darrell Russell was a Pro Bowl lineman in 1998 and '99. (Tom Hauck / Getty Images)
Police detective Mike Fischer identified Russell, 29, of Santa Monica, as one of the two fatalities in the accident.
The driver, who has not yet been identified, was taken to UCLA Medical Center in full cardiac arrest and pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Russell was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The vehicle was moving "at a high rate of speed," but investigators have found no evidence of racing, despite earlier reports from an MTA spokesman, according to police spokesman Kevin Maiberger.
Russell was the second overall player selected by the Raiders in the 1997 NFL draft. He played in Oakland from 1997-2002 before moving on to the Washington Redskins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who released him in July 2004 before he ever played a game with them.
Russell played with the Redskins in 2003 after he was reinstated by the NFL following a 1 1/2-year suspension for a second violation of the league's substance abuse policy.
The 6-foot-5, 325-pound tackle had 28 1/2 sacks in five seasons with the Raiders and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 1999. He failed a drug test and sat out the first four games of the 2001 season, then was suspended by the NFL for a second violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Russell's suspension was extended by three months because commissioner Paul Tagliabue wasn't satisfied with his off-field behavior during that period. In 2002, Russell was charged as an accomplice in a sexual assault case against two friends, but prosecutors dropped the charges.
