http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977951671&grpId=3659174697243100&nav=GroupspaceCincinnati Bengals Receiver Chris Henry was pronounced dead at 6:36am on Thursday morning at a hospital near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Henry had suffered severe head wounds after falling out of his fiancee's pick up truck on Wednesday afternoon. He was 26 years old.
Christ Henry and fiancee, Lolenini Tonga were reportedly involved in a domestic dispute Wednesday afternoon, according to Charlotte Police. When the situation grew out of control, Tonga decided to leave the couples home to cool down. While driving away, an aggravated Henry, climbed into the flatbed of the truck, and about a half mile away from the couples home, fell off. He sustained severe head injuries and was rushed to the hospital and placed in intensive care, with life threatening injuries noted. The Carolina's Medical Center, where Henry passed away this morning, has yet not announced a formal cause of death.
Initial police reports are unclear as to whether Henry fell off the vehicle as a result of Tonga's actions, such as swerving, aggressive acceleration/braking, or whether he simply slipped off without her realizing. Tonga reportedly continued driving, so she may never have realized that Henry had boarded the vehicle. Only hours before the accident, Tonga had posted updates on her MySpace page discussing fittings and rings for the couples impending wedding. Homicide detectives have been assigned to evaluate Henry's case.
Sources close to Henry have noted that he had a bad temper, which often resulted in the athlete making impulsive and unwise decisions. In the past his reckless behavior had landed him in trouble, both during his time at the University of West Virginia and as a player on the Bengals. In 2008, he was at one point noted to be "a one-man crime wave" by Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard, but his Bengals connections helped to relieve him of his legal troubles. After almost being kicked off the Bengals, Henry decided to make some life changes, and friends as well as teammates noted a drastic change in attitude. Henry began to focus more of his time with his fiancee and raising their 3 children and honing in on his talents. Despite Henry's hard work and changed attitude, he was benched for the remainder of the season after breaking his left forearm on November 8, 2009. Despite this setback, Henry was optimistic that he'd soon be healed and back playing the game he loved. He leaves behind 3 children, 3 year old Seini, 2 year old Chris Jr., and 10 month old DeMarcus.
