The Chiefs have suffered a great loss as one of their star players perished in a horrific car accident.
On that January Sunday in 2000, the Kansas City metropolitan region saw a significant amount of snowfall. The elements were building up on the roads more quickly than the overworked staff of the highway department could remove them, and the phone lines were starting to get backlogged with accident complaints. More than 100 cars were involved in collisions between noon and three o’clock (source: CBS News). By the middle of the evening, that figure had increased to over 430, including 10 fatalities from one multi-vehicle collision.
Derrick Thomas, a linebacker with the Kansas City Chiefs, was traveling to the airport on one stretch of road with two buddies. In order for the three of them to see the Rams take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship, Thomas was hoping to board a plane to Saint Louis. Thomas lost control of his 1999 Chevy Suburban and went off of I-435 before they could make their getaway. The nine-time Pro Bowl star is allegedly weaving in and out of traffic and driving too fast for the conditions of the road, according to reports (The New York Times). Thomas’s SUV overturned at least three times after it got off the freeway. Out of the three passengers, only one had a seatbelt on, and even then, they were only slightly hurt. Michael Tellis, Thomas’s companion, would not be as fortunate. Each of them would be thrown from the Suburban, with disastrous results. When rescue workers arrived at Tellis’s scene, Thomas was still alive but in severe condition. His neck and spine were fractured, so paramedics hurried him to the hospital.
When the accident happened, Thomas was in the middle of a storied career.
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The Chiefs selected Thomas in the 1989 draft (source: Pro Football Reference). After a stellar collegiate career at Alabama, where he won the Dick Butkus Award, Thomas played for the Kansas City Chiefs for the entirety of his 11-season career. The linebacker broke the school record for most sacks in a career with 52, and he also set the record for most sacks in a single season with 27.
When Thomas first came at Arrowhead Stadium in 1989, he immediately demonstrated his superiority as a defender on the gridiron. Thomas recorded 10 sacks in 16 games during his first campaign in addition to three forced fumbles. Thomas would show abilities in his sophomore year that could maybe compete with any defensive player in the league today. Thomas recorded six forced fumbles and established the record for the most NFL sacks in a single season that year with 20. In one game, there were seven of those sacks. According to USA Today, on November 11, 1990, Thomas accomplished an unprecedented achievement by charging behind the line of scrimmage and taking down Seattle Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg. As of this writing, his record for the most sacks in a single game, seven, still holds.
Throughout his career, Thomas was recognized with numerous awards, such as the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1993, the NFL All-Rookie Team in 1989, and 15 times as the NFL’s Player of the Week. That career came to an abrupt end that frigid January day in 2000 as paramedics raced to save the life of one of Kansas City’s most cherished sports legends after he was ejected from his Suburban.
Thomas wouldn’t survive for more than two weeks following the crash, according to The Washington Post. After suffering severe injury to his neck and spine during his admission to a medical institution in Kansas City, Thomas was quickly sent to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. Doctors at this clinic, which is renowned for treating spinal injuries among the best in the country, expressed optimism that Thomas would regain his mobility.
However, that hope was fleeting. The Chiefs’ standout defensive end, Thomas, suffered a heart attack on February 8 while caregivers were transferring him from his hospital bed to a wheelchair. There were no results from attempts to revive him. It was eventually discovered that Thomas had suffered a pulmonary embolism, notwithstanding the initial theory that he had died from a blood clot.
Almost ten years after his premature passing, in 2009, Thomas was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Even after all these years, his 126.5 sacks over 11 seasons remain an incredible career accomplishment (per Pro Football Hall of Fame). The 2014 College Football Hall of Fame election of Thomas is also noted by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Check out this article for more information: https://www.grunge.com/1188176/the-tragic-2000-death-of-kansas-city-chiefs-player-derrick-thomas/
