Former NFL player D.J. Hayden 1 of 6 people killed in Houston car accident

D.J. Hayden, a 2013 first-round pick of the then-Oakland Raiders out of the University of Houston, passed away early Saturday morning in Houston.

Hayden, 33, was one of six people killed in a car accident in Houston early Saturday morning.

ESPN reported on the tragedy, which also claimed the lives of former Houston football players Zachary McMillian and Ralph Oragwu and left another former Cougar, Jeffery Lewis, hospitalized.

“The driver who ran the red light was also pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Houston Chronicle, ESPN wrote. “Police said four people were pronounced dead at the scene and two more died after being taken to a local hospital. A woman was transported to the hospital with “life-threatening injuries,” police told the Chronicle, while another person was alert and talking with investigators.”

The University of Houston issued a statement following the tragic accident.

Two of Hayden’s former NFL teams, the Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions, tweeted out their condolences and best wishes, as did the Houston Texans.

Others shared the sentiments, as well, mourning those who passed away.

While at Houston in 2012, Hayden suffered a season-ending and near-fatal accident during practice. Prior to the 2013 NFL Draft, Griffin Gotta of SBNation reported that Hayden suffered a “torn inferior vena cava, a main highway for blood traveling between the heart and lower body.”

Hayden played with the Raiders from 2013-2016, the Lions in 2017, the Jacksonville Jaguars form 2018-2020 and the Washington Commanders (then the Washington Football Team) in 2021.

[ESPN.com, SBNation.com]