(NEW YORK) — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was walking on a Florida highway to get gas before he was fatally struck by a dump truck earlier this month, his wife apparently told a dispatcher in newly released 911 calls.
Haskins, 24, was walking on the westbound side of Interstate 595 in Fort Lauderdale on the morning of April 9 when he collided with an oncoming dump truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday released the 911 calls regarding the incident, including from a caller who said she was his wife, Kalabrya Haskins.
“I’m calling because my husband is stuck on the side of the highway,” his wife told the dispatcher. “He had to go walking to get gas and he said he was returning to the car on the highway.”
She said she was in Pittsburgh and had been unable to get ahold of her husband so was asking to see if someone could go check on him.
“That’s just not like him, for him not to call me back,” she said, after giving the dispatcher his approximate location.
The dispatcher responded, “I don’t want you to panic, but I’m going to be honest with you — we do have an incident on the highway, but I can’t confirm if that’s your husband or not.”
The dispatcher said there was an accident and that rescue and state troopers were currently there. She took down his wife’s contact information and told her to stay by her phone for a possible update.
Authorities also released 911 calls made by several distraught witnesses who said they saw a man get hit by a dump truck on I-595. Other callers reported seeing a body on the highway. Several callers said they were coming from the nearby Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Haskins was walking on the westbound side of I-595 and entered the travel lanes into the path of the dump truck in the center lane of the highway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol’s final accident report on the incident.
A second driver tried to avoid him, but the second car also came in contact with Haskins, according to the report, which was released Wednesday.
There were no distractions or vision issues on the part of the two drivers, the report stated.
A witness told authorities a third car may have been involved, but no information was provided beyond the color of the vehicle.
Haskins was in Florida training with other Steelers players at the time, according to ESPN.
A “public celebration of life” is planned for Haskins in Pittsburgh on Friday, his family announced.
“I want to thank everyone for their continuous outpour of kindness and love for my husband during this extremely difficult time,” Kalabrya Haskins said in a statement on the plans.
During the service at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church in Pittsburgh, “his legacy will be honored with stories told from teammates, coaches, friends, family and loved ones,” she said.
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