Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry died today at Carolinas Medical Center, the result of injuries he sustained Wednesday after falling from the back of a pickup. He was 26 years old.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say the incident occurred following a domestic dispute between Henry and his fiancé, who lives in Charlotte.
Police say Henry died at 6:36 a.m.
According to CMPD’s initial report, Henry was found lying in the 1100 block of Oakdale Road in north Charlotte. He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with injuries described as life-threatening.
Police said Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup as his unidentified fiance was driving away from a home. The domestic dispute continued and, at some point, Henry fell from the truck.
“Detectives continue to work diligently on this active investigation,” CMPD said in a statement today.
According to several published reports, Henry was engaged to Loleini Tonga, and the couple has been raising three children. ESPN.com was reporting that Tonga’s MySpace page identified herself as “Mrs. C. Henry” and had a picture of her next to a person who appeared to be Henry. She also had a post from Tuesday talking about buying wedding rings, the Web site said.
Henry, who played college ball at West Virginia, was in his fifth season with the Bengals. Known for his speed, he also had bounced in and out of legal trouble, including arrests for DWI, marijuana possession and assault.
He broke his left forearm during a win over Baltimore on Nov. 8 and was placed on season-ending injured reserve after surgery.
Read more at CharlotteObserver.com.
