JoJo Nicolas, 24, a former University of Miami football player, critically injured and after his car rear-ended a tractor-trailer on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach, Florida

Former University of Miami football star JoJo Nicolas was critically injured in a violent crash on the MacArthur Causeway Tuesday morning, Miami Beach Police said. The crash happened around 5 a.m. in the westbound lanes of the Causeway just before Fountain Street when the driver of a gray Lexus rear-ended a tractor trailer, police said. Footage showed the car crushed underneath the tractor trailer. Nicolas, 24, was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The truck driver stayed at the scene. The crash caused the westbound lanes of the MacArthur Causeway to be closed for more than six hours. Police said they are still investigating the cause of the crash. Nicolas was a defensive back for the Hurricanes from 2007 to 2011 after attending Homestead Senior High School. He went undrafted and was signed by the New York Giants.