Former Bears running back Cedric Benson has died in a Saturday motorcycle crash in Austin, Texas. He was just 36-years-old.
According to KVUE, emergency services were called to the scene of an accident around 10:20 pm local time involving a motorcycle that Benson and an unidentified woman in her 30’s were on and a minivan. Police reports indicated that the minivan pulled out of a crossroad and struck Benson’s motorcycle killing him and his passenger who were both declared dead at the scene.
The two occupants of the minivan remained at the scene as investigators blamed the accident on high speeds and lack of visibility.
Benson’s death was confirmed on Twitter by this brother.
Benson’s former coach at Texas, Mack Brown, commented on Instagram saying “We lost a great one way too soon. #RIP.”
Meanwhile, Benson himself posted this story to Instagram earlier Saturday:
Benson — a four year starter with the Longhorns — was an absolute beast racking up at least 1,000 rushing yards in each season with Texas. He was eventually named the Doak Walker Award winner as the country’s top running back in 2004 and was a consensus All-American.
Benson’s stellar college career transcended into a fourth overall selection by the Chicago Bears in 2005.
And although his time in Chicago didn’t quite go as planned for both sides, Benson was able to rejuvenate hiscareer with the Bengals in 2008, rushing for 4,176 yards and 21 touchdowns in four seasons in Cincinnati. He eventually finished his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers in 2012.