A Via Lactea |
by Roberto Rivera |
The quarterback sometimes known as Ron Mexico has pleaded guilty to federal dog-fighting charges and faces at least one year in prison and who knows how long a time away from football. (As Tony Kornheiser put it, Vick is "radioactive.")
As bad as the Vick story was, it wasn't the saddest or most horrifying story involving a professional athlete this week. That dubious honor goes to this story:
Eddie Griffin, who played five seasons in the National Basketball Association, died last week when the sports-utility vehicle he was driving collided with a moving train in Houston, authorities said. He was 25.
Dental comparisons were used today to identify Griffin, whose body was badly burned in the crash, Jennifer Coston, deputy chief of investigations at the Harris County, Texas, medical examiner's office, said in a telephone interview.
Griffin disregarded a warning signal, drove through a railroad arm and struck the side of a moving freight train on Aug. 17, according to a news release from the Houston Police Department. Griffin's vehicle was consumed by flames, and he died at the scene.