Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed early Saturday morning in Florida after being struck by a dump truck.
He was 24 years old.
Since that shocking news gripped the sports world, more information has since come out. NBC 6 South Florida spoke to a man who says he believes he saw Haskins on I-595 westbound just minutes before the crash.
Via NBC Miami:
“I was dropping off my daughter to an airline at the Fort Lauderdale Airport in the morning,” said Chris Stanley.
Stanley said he was on the way home after leaving the airport, and heading towards the off-ramp to Interstate 95 north when he noticed vehicles veering into his lane.
“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,” said Stanley. “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 said he saw the man’s arms raised up a little bit as he appeared to be drifting into the major highway.
“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,” he said.
Stanley said he was so concerned that he dialed 911 and shared a screenshot of his call log with NBC 6 with a call to 911 at 6:31 a.m. — six minutes before Florida Highway Patrol officials said the crash was reported at 6:37 a.m.”
Haskins was pronounced dead at the scene, and authorities said it was “unknown” why he was walking on the interstate.
“I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” head coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on and off the field and in our community.”
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“Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many,” Tomlin said. “I am truly heartbroken.”
The former Ohio State standout was reportedly in Miami training with Mitch Trubisky, who was signed by the Steelers last month to a two-year deal. Haskins was expected to compete for the starting job in Pittsburgh following veteran Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement.
