Bengals WR Chris Henry Passes Away Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina

It was reported on Wednesday night that Chris Henry, a 26-year-old wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, sustained potentially fatal injuries in an automobile accident that occurred in Charlotte, North Carolina. Authorities have confirmed that Henry passed away at 6:36 A.M. EST on Thursday morning as a result of the injuries he sustained after falling out of the back of a moving pickup truck.

According to The USA Today, Henry was in North Carolina to plan his wedding with his fiancée, Loleini Tonga. The couple engaged in a heated domestic dispute and Henry decided to leap into the back of a pickup truck that was being driven by his fiancée. The dispute reportedly continued after he jumped into the truck’s bed before he fell out and sustained fatal injuries.

Henry broke his left arm when the Bengals played the Baltimore Ravens in week nine and he was placed on injured reserve, which effectively ended his season. The 26-year-old had overcome several obstacles including an assortment of arrests and suspensions from the National Football League as a result of violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.

The troubled wide receiver appeared to turn a corner in his life after Bengals owner Mike Brown gave him one last chance during the 2008 season. Brown commented on Henry’s passing by saying, “He was a teammate to our players, a friend to almost all of us in the building. We knew him in a different way than his public persona. He had troubles, and some of them were made more of than I think they actually were.”