Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent is overcome with sadness at the death of teammate Jerry Brown, who was a passenger in the vehicle Brent was driving in a one-car accident near Dallas Saturday night. Brent was arrested and charged with intoxicated manslaughter.
“I am devastated and filled with grief,” Brent said in a statement through his agent, Peter Schaffer. “Filled with grief for the loss of my close friend and teammate, Jerry Brown. I am also grief-stricken for his family, friends and all who were blessed enough to have known him. I will live with this horrific and tragic loss every day for the rest of my life. My prayers are with his family, our teammates and his friends at this time.”
Brent was being held without bond. A three-year veteran, was booked in the Irving city jail at 4:14 a.m. Saturday. His bond was set Sunday morning.
“We are deeply saddened by the news of this accident and the passing of Jerry Brown,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “At this time, our hearts and prayers and deepest sympathies are with the members of Jerry’s family and all of those who knew him and loved him.”
According to Irving police, Brent’s car was traveling at a high rate of speed on a State Highway 114 service road before it hit the outside curb at approximately 2:30 a.m. The car flipped at least one time and skidded an estimated 900 feet before coming to rest in the middle of the service road, police said.
When the police arrived, Brent was attempting to pull Brown, a practice squad linebacker, from the burning Mercedes.
Irving police spokesman John Argumaniz said officers conducted a field-sobriety test on Brent and arrested him.
Brown, who was a teammate of Brent’s for three years at Illinois, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 25.
Cowboy players were made aware of the accident at their Valley Ranch facility in the morning and told of Brown’s death by coach Jason Garrett on the plane at approximately 1:15 p.m. after non-team personnel were asked to leave the plane.
Team spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the flight was “quiet, much more than normal.”
The Cowboys play the Bengals in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Brent had been starting for the Cowboys with nose tackle with Jay Ratliff sidelined by a groin injury. The Cowboys signed Brown to their practice squad Oct. 24, but he hasn’t been on the active roster. He was released from the Colts’ practice squad Oct. 20. Brown played in one game for the Colts, a loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 14.
