Former NFL linebacker Thomas Howard kills self, other driver in high-speed car crash

Modified Date:

Wed, 09/24/2014 - 11:12am

Accident Date:

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Former Oakland Raider killed in high-speed crash on Interstate 880

Former Oakland Raider Thomas Howard died Monday after a high-speed crash on Interstate 880 in Oakland near Fifth Avenue.

2 dead, including ex-Raider, in Oakland wreck

An NFL linebacker who spent most of his career with the Oakland Raiders and was recently released by the Atlanta Falcons caused a high-speed crash on Interstate 880 in Oakland that killed him and a second motorist, authorities said Monday.

Former NFL Linebacker Thomas Howard Passes Away at Age 30 in Car Accident

Thomas Howard, who played five NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders before shorter stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons, passed away in a high-speed car accident on Monday morning on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland, Calif.

Former NFL linebacker Thomas Howard dies in car crash

The 30-year-old Howard, who played with the Raiders, Bengals and Falcons, was reportedly driving his BMW upwards of 100 mph when he hit a big rig, flipped over the center divider and went head-on into a Honda, killing 64-year-old driver Zeng Long Liu.

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Former NFL linebacker Thomas Howard died early Monday morning following a high-speed car crash on a freeway in Oakland.
The Alameda County Coroner’s office said the 30-year-old Howard was one of two men who died in the crash Monday. The driver of the other car, 64-year-old Zeng Long Liu of Hayward, also died in the crash.

Howard was driving a speeding BMW when he hit a big rig, flipped over the center divider and went head-on into a Honda traveling on the other side around 1 a.m., said a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

Witnesses say the car was traveling at speeds between 100 mph to 110 mph as the car overturned, crossed a median and ended up in the southbound lanes of the freeway, where it sideswiped another car before landing on top of the Honda.
Alcohol has not being ruled out as a possible cause of the accident.

Howard played eight years in the NFL after being drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round out of Texas-El Paso in 2006. He was most recently with Atlanta before getting released last week after playing two games this season. Howard played his first five seasons with the Raiders and two seasons with Cincinnati.

People Involved:

Thomas Howard

Zeng Long Liu

Roadway:

I 880

City:

Alameda, CA

County:

Alameda County, CA

Area:

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA