Former NFL Linebacker Thomas Howard Killed in Car Crash

A fiery high speed car crash on a freeway in Oakland this Monday ended the life of 30 year old Thomas Howard, former NFL linebacker for the Oakland Raiders.   According to California Highway Patrol, Howard was driving more than 100 miles per hour when his BMW overturned, crossed a meridian and fell into the opposite lane of the freeway.  Howard’s vehicle then side-nipped one southbound car before falling on top of a Honda driven by 64 year old Zeng Long Liu of Hayward.  Both cars burst into flames, killing Howard and the other driver.  The driver of the first car struck by Howard’s BMW was taken to hospital with mild injuries.

Thomas Howard played with the Oakland Raiders for eight years as a second-round draft in 2006.  In his first four seasons with the Raiders, he made 62 starts, recording his best season in 2007 when he intercepted six passes, two of which were returned for successful touchdowns.

In 2011, Howard left the Raiders as a free agent but after starting 15 games in his first season with the NFL team, the Bengals, he missed the rest of the season due to injury.  In October this year, Howard signed with the Falcons and played two games with them before being released last week.

Authorities have not ruled out alcohol as the cause of the car wreck, however they said that it was impossible to determine this from initial scenes at the site.

“If there was any sort of physical evidence of alcohol involvement, we didn’t see it at the scene,” said Officer Daniel Hill, speaking for the California Highway Patrol. “The vehicle was so mangled the officers couldn’t even get close.”

“The damage was spectacular in a horrible way,” added Hill. “At the speed he was traveling, he never would have been able to react in time to avoid a collision. We can say with relative certainty that speed was the cause of this collision.”

Howard is survived by two young daughters.