NBA crash: Former NBA guard Blaylock critical after car crash, 1 killed
| Jonesboro, Ga.
Former聽NBA聽All-Star guard Daron "Mookie" Blaylock was in critical condition at a hospital late Friday after his SUV crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a van in suburban Atlanta, fatally injuring a passenger in the van, police said.
Blaylock was driving in Jonesboro on Friday when he crashed and was airlifted to the Atlanta Medical Center, said Clayton County police spokesman Clarence Cox.
Jonesboro Police Chief Franklin Allen said late Friday that 43-year-old Monica Murphy, a passenger in the van, died just before 10 p.m. Allen said her husband, 41-year-old Frankie Murphy, sustained a broken ankle and was released from the hospital after undergoing treatment.
Blaylock was initially placed on life support at the hospital. But the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Blaylock's condition improved Friday night and he was taken off of it.
Allen told WSB-TV in Atlanta that Blaylock has had "a history of seizures," and police were trying to find out if a seizure may have led to the accident.
The 46-year-old Blaylock was a first-round draft pick by the New Jersey Nets out of Oklahoma in 1989.
He played for the Atlanta Hawks between 1992 and 1999, appeared in the 1994聽NBA聽All-Star game and had his best season in 1996-97, averaging 17.4 points and 5.9 assists.
In 13聽NBA聽seasons with New Jersey, Atlanta and Golden State, he averaged 13.5 points and 6.2 assists.
The Hawks tweeted Friday night, "Our thoughts are with Mookie Blaylock, who is in the hospital tonight after a car crash."
