Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was fatally struck by a dump truck on the Florida freeway, police say

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Haskins, who re-signed with the Steelers last month, was 24.

Haskins was trying to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Broward County when the dump truck hit him, Florida Highway Patrol said. The incident was reported shortly after 6:30 a.m., the patrol said.

He was “walking on (the highway) for unknown reasons” when the incident occurred, the patrol said in a statement.

Details on what led to this were not immediately available. For the past few days, Haskins has been in South Florida training with some Steelers teammates, as seen in Instagram Stories of Haskins and Steelers running back Najee Harris.

News of Haskins’ death prompted statements of shock across the league and beyond.

“I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in a team statement.

“He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community,” Tomlin’s statement read. “Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a great friend to so many people. I am truly heartbroken.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kalabrya, and all of his family during this difficult time.”

“I feel like I can start in this league”

Haskins, a replacement last season for longtime Steeler Ben Roethlisberger now retired, re-signed with the Steelers for a year last month, ready to enter his fourth year in the NFL.
“I feel like I can be a starter in this league. I got drafted for that reason,” Haskins said in January, according to Steelers.com. “I really believe I have the talent for. I just haven’t put everything in place yet. And that’s something I need to do this offseason to put myself in a position to play.”

Haskins rose to prominence at Ohio State, where he set OSU and Big Ten Conference records as the second redshirt in 2018, including passing yards in a season (4 831), touchdown passes (50) and total offensive yards (4,939).

He finished third in voting for this season’s Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football’s most outstanding player.
Washington selected Haskins as the 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Haskins played in 16 games over two seasons for Washington — up from 13 times — before the team released him in December 2020 near the end of his tenure. second season.
The Steelers picked him up in January 2021, although he didn’t play in a regular season game for Pittsburgh.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Twitter that although he only knew Haskins for a short time, he knew he was “a young man who never seemed to have a bad day”.

“He came to work every day with a smile on his face and energy and love in his heart. I really appreciated his passion and love for the game and his desire to learn and improve. to be the best. His smile and zeal for life will be missed!,” Roethlisberger said. “I repeat like I said to your face, I always wish I could throw the ball like you,” he added.

“Absolutely Heartbroken”

Commanders Washington, Ohio State and other players expressed shock and condolences.

Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward tweeted that “Dwayne meant so much to so many people.”

“His smile was infectious and he was a guy you wanted to be with,” Hewyard wrote. “We are all in shock to lose him. We will miss him too. We lost you too soon. Luckily I was lucky enough to know you. RIP DH.”

Haskins’ second Washington head coach, Ron Rivera, said Saturday he was “absolutely heartbroken” to learn of his former player’s passing.

“Dwayne was a talented young man who had a long life ahead of him,” Rivera said. statement bed. “It’s a very sad time and I’m honestly at a loss for words. I know I speak for the rest of our team in saying he will be sorely missed.”
Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool remembered Haskins’ selflessness during his last interaction with him.
“I spent your last moments with you and I can’t help but think how selfless you were in those times. All you cared about was making sure everyone around fit you well and I can’t thank you enough. You are what I strive to be”, Claypool tweeted.
Ryan Day, head coach of Ohio State, said in a Tweeter that the university community is “sorry”.

“The loss of Dwayne is beyond tragic and extremely difficult to handle. To those who knew him closely, he was so much more than a great football player. He had a giant heart, an old soul and an infectious smile. “, tweeted Day.

The Ohio State Department of Athletics released a statement saying it was “terribly saddened to learn of the passing of Dwayne Haskins on Saturday morning.”

“We are thinking of the entire Haskins family during this most difficult time. Our prayers go out to the family, as well as to his current and former teammates, coaches, friends and relatives,” the statement read.

In his 16 career NFL games at Washington, Haskins threw for 2,804 yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

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