Former NFL player D.J. Hayden was killed in a car crash early Saturday morning in Houston.
The Houston Chronicle reported the 33-year-old Hayden, a cornerback at the University of Houston before being drafted in the first round by the Raiders (12th overall) in the 2013 draft, was one of six people killed after a car ran through a red light at about 2 a.m. local time.
Hayden spent four of his eight seasons in the NFL with the Raiders and also spent time with Detroit, Jacksonville and Washington.
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The Houston Police Department said four people were pronounced dead at the season, one of whom was Hayden’s teammate at Houston, fellow cornerback Zach McMillian.
Hayden had previously survived a heart injury that nearly killed him in 2012, when a hit during practice damaged a main vein leading to his heart after a teammate accidentally kneed Hayden in the chest.
Hayden recovered from that injury and went on to play 92 games while collecting four interceptions during a nine-year NFL career that ended in 2021.
