More details have emerged about the tragic death of Pittsburgh Steelers and former Washington Redskins quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
The 24-year-old athlete was hit by a dump truck and killed around 6:37 a.m. on a treacherous stretch of I-595 in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. on Saturday, April 9.
Florida Highway Patrol says Haskins “attempted” to cross I-595 on foot when he was hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
A Broward County man says he saw Haskins in the roadway minutes before he was struck. The man’s statements raised questions that Haskins may have flirted with death before he was killed.
Chris Stanley had just dropped his daughter off at the Fort Lauderdale Airport and was returning home on I-595 when he saw cars and trucks ahead swerving over into his lane.
Stanley told NBC 6 that he soon realized the vehicles were swerving into his lane to avoid hitting someone in the roadway.
“And what I noticed was a Mack truck, or a big tractor-trailer, with also another vehicle that started moving a little bit to the left,” he said. “I was in the left lane and then there was the right lane, and then I noticed an individual there starting to make their way onto the road.”
Stanley told NBC 6 that he “saw the man’s arms raised” as he “appeared to be drifting into” the roadway.
“He was about halfway to a quarter way in the right lane, already onto the highway and I was already concerned that somebody was going to strike him right there at that moment,” Stanley said.
Stanley said he called 9-1-1, and call logs show the 9-1-1 call was placed at 6:31 a.m., six-minutes before police say Haskins was struck and killed.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a traffic homicide investigation is ongoing. The driver of the dump truck that hit Haskins remained at the scene until police arrived. No charges have been filed.
Friends and teammates paid tribute to Haskins on Facebook in the hours following his death.
One Facebook post noted that the NFL player had fallen into a deep depression in the months before he died, and that his death was “probably a suicide.” That post has since been deleted.
In his final Instagram comment under a Valentine’s Day post by his wife, Kalabrya Haskins, in February, Haskins wrote, “Helped me through my storm so we gone shine forever. I love you mami.”
Kalabrya’s post was accompanied by a photo of her and Haskins locked in a tight embrace while she sat in his lap.
Assault charges were dropped against Kalabrya after she allegedly knocked her husband’s tooth out during a dispute in a hotel room. The couple allegedly argued over Haskins staying out late partying with his friends.
RELATED: Charges dropped after wife of Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins knocked his tooth out
The Florida Highway Patrol’s statements conflicted with reports that Haskins’ car broke down and he was walking for help. No disabled vehicle was located nearby, and officials said he would have walked for miles to reach that spot on the highway where there was no pedestrian access.
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