J.R. Smith Injured in car crash

[AlamoSpursFan]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070610/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_player_injured_crash;_ylt=ApJiCNmBALlC.PFBW1kg PZALMxIF

Nuggets' Smith seriously hurt in crash
26 minutes ago


MILLSTONE TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Denver Nuggets player J.R. Smith and another man were seriously injured Saturday when the sport utility vehicle Smith was driving collided with a car.

Smith and the unidentified passenger were ejected from the SUV in the crash, which occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Stagecoach Road in Millstone Township, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, a state police spokesman.

The passenger — who had serious head wounds — was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Hospital in Neptune, while Smith was taken there via ambulance.

Further details on their injuries were not immediately available Saturday night.

Smith's vehicle apparently went through a stop sign, Jones said, and collided with the other car. The driver of that vehicle and two other people in the SUV were injured and taken to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, but their injuries were not considered serious.

The 21-year-old Smith was a star player at Lakewood High School and St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey. He averaged 13.0 points in 63 games this season.

[tah]

Wow. I hope he's okay.

[baseline bum]

sucks... I hope it's not life or career threatening.

[ducks]

hope he was not drunk

[timvp]

Get well :tu

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

dang it! I hope he is ok :depressed

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Apparently he is just bruised up a bit, but it's the passenger they are very concerned about still

[Bear Grylls]

At the end of ESPN Scott Van Pelt said that J.R's injuries were not serious and was expected to leave the hospital tomorrow.

[ALVAREZ6]

That sucks...hope he's alright.



Next time, wear a seat belt. :tu

[The_Worlds_finest]

Yeah jr better hope his passenger turn out alright or else the state can press involuntery man slaughter

[TDMVPDPOY]

Yeah jr better hope his passenger turn out alright or else the state can press involuntery man slaughter

accidents happen man

but thats pretty fuckd up though

did the dude wear seat belts?

[Trainwreck2100]

He must have taken the adage "thrown under the bus" to the extreme

[Obstructed_View]

did the dude wear seat belts?
Two of the three people in his car were thrown out. If they were wearing their seat belts they'll have to change the name of the car company to JR Motors after the lawsuit.

[texbound]

Thank goodness, it sounds like JR will be ok. I hope we can say the same for the other guy (whoever he is). I hate to see something like this happen to a young kid with so much in front of them. Anyone remember Bobby Hurley? Anyway, good to hear JR will be back on the court for next season.


On a lighter note, I'm sure that Denver columnist (Kiszla, I think) and George Karl will find a way to blame this accident on the San Antonio Spurs organization. They would say that if the Spurs hadn't beaten the Nuggets in RD 1 then Denver would be in the finals and JR wouldn't have been involved in the accident. Also, the fact that JR wasn't wearing his seat belt can undoubtedly be attributed to Manu Ginobilli and Bruce Bowen.

[judaspriestess]

Hope he gets better. And hopefully he will learn from this accident and start wearing his seat belt.

Quite a few years back, a minor league baseball player was called up to play in the majors, on his way home to tell his fiance he was involved in a one car accident. He rolled his SUV and was ejected and killed but if he would have worn his seat belt he would have survived. SAD

[ALVAREZ6]

did the dude wear seat belts?Probably not, since they were ejected from the vehicle.

[Cry Havoc]

I hope J.R. and ALL the people involved in that accident are ok.

[ForeignFan]

Hope he gets better. And hopefully he will learn from this accident and start wearing his seat belt.

sorry, but does "went through the stop sign" mean he did not stop?
If that is the case, then he'd better learn to stop where he is supposed to stop...

[Bob Lanier]

Would Brent Barry be riding with a drunk driver? Huh?

[Texas_Ranger]

I hope he'll be OK.

[shelshor]

Looks like a looong off season for the Nougats:
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20070611_NBA____Nuggets_reserve_arrested_in_Colo_. html

Posted on Mon, Jun. 11, 2007 |
Nuggets reserve arrested in Colo.
Associated Press
Nuggets reserve forward DerMarr Johnson was charged with resisting arrest and interfering with police during a disturbance outside a nightclub in Greenwood Village, Colo. Police said they used a taser to calm the 6-foot-9 player.
"He apparently would not cooperate," Police Lt. Randy Corbitt said.

Johnson and two women were arrested, booked and released early Saturday. The women were charged with disturbing the peace.

Dan Recht, Johnson's lawyer, said his client was breaking up a fight between the two women.

"There was a great deal of confusion, and the police mistakenly believe he was interfering with them," Recht told the Denver Post.

Johnson, in his sixth season in the league, averaged 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.7 minutes this season.

Nuggets' Smith still hospitalized.
Nuggets guard J.R. Smith remained hospitalized yesterday after being thrown from his vehicle during a crash Saturday night, but his injuries are not believed to be as serious as first thought.

"J.R. is fine. There is nothing career- or life-threatening," Nuggets spokesman Eric Sebastian said yesterday.

Smith and a passenger, Andre Bell, 21, of East Orange, N.J., were seriously injured Saturday when the sport utility vehicle Smith was driving went through a stop sign and overturned after colliding with a car about 5:30 p.m. in Millstone Township, N.J., state police said.

Carroll Marshall, 23, another passenger in the SUV, and Lynn Sinatra, 49, of Millstone, who was driving the car, sustained minor injuries. They were taken to CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, N.J., where they were treated and later released.

Smith and Bell were ejected from the vehicle, said Lt. Brian McPherson, commander of the state police's Hamilton barracks. Bell - who sustained life-threatening head injuries - was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Hospital in Neptune, while Smith was taken there by ambulance.

Further details on their status and their injuries were not disclosed yesterday.

Smith, 21, was a star player at Lakewood High School and St. Benedict's Prep in New Jersey before being the 18th overall pick of New Orleans in the 2004 NBA draft. He averaged 13.0 points in 63 games for Denver this season.

Wizards want Arenas to stay.
The Washington Wizards are committed to keeping Gilbert Arenas on the team, even after the all-star guard said he planned to opt out of the six-year, $65 million contract he signed in 2003 and become a free agent.

"Gilbert has said that his intention is to remain with our organization, and we are committed to having him spend his entire career as a Washington Wizard," Wizards president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement.

[Cry Havoc]

Just read that Bell, the passenger in Smith's SUV, died. Sad. J.R. Smith is a freaking idiot, and now someone dies because of his actions.

[Fillmoe]

Just read that Bell, the passenger in Smith's SUV, died. Sad. J.R. Smith is a freaking idiot, and now someone dies because of his actions.


If you don't know the whole story yet.... don't judge...... and I'm pretty sure JR Smith didn't tell the passenger to leave his seat belt off.....

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Just read that Bell, the passenger in Smith's SUV, died. Sad. J.R. Smith is a freaking idiot, and now someone dies because of his actions.do you even know the cause of the accident?

[ca®lo]

he's dead..

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6908020?MSNHPHMA

so sad... RIP :(

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

:depressed

I hope all the families and those involved have the support they need.

I hear JR is inconsolable. He made a mistake, but we all do, i hope he can recover from this. I cant imagine what it must be like to live with a loss of a good friend, especially in a car you were driving.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

:depressed

[THE SIXTH MAN]

Link (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2900023)

Passenger in Smith car dies; player doing OK
ESPN.com news services

Updated: June 11, 2007, 9:16 PM ET
NEPTUNE, N.J. -- A New Jersey man who was thrown from Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith's sport utility vehicle when it overturned last weekend died Monday night in the hospital, state police said.

Andre Bell, 21, was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle Smith was driving when it went through a stop sign, collided with another car and flipped over at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Millstone Township.

Bell, who was in a coma, died from head injuries at 6 p.m. at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, said state police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones.

Smith, 21, who was also thrown from the sport vehicle, remained at Jersey Shore on Monday with an injured left shoulder and numerous scratches, Jones said.

Neither Smith nor Bell were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, he said.

Nuggets spokesman Eric Sebastian said he did not know when Smith might be discharged.

"I think it's too early to say," Sebastian said. "From everything we hear, he's going to be OK."

Sebastian said he did not know if Smith would miss any training, but added, "We didn't hear anything that would indicate his career would be jeopardized in any way."

Smith has been issued two traffic tickets for failure to stop at stop sign and improper passing, Jones said. Both carry fines, though the amount was not immediately available.

A third person in Smith's car and the driver of the car he hit had only minor injuries.

Smith had been a star at Lakewood High School and St. Benedict's Prep in Newark before being the 18th overall pick of New Orleans in the 2004 NBA draft. He averaged 13.0 points in 63 games for Denver this past season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Fernando TD21]

That's really sad. I hope Bell's family have all the suport to overcome their lost.

[Soul_Patch]

This could be really serious for JR Smith. Apparently (and this is all what i heard reported on 760 this morning) Smith went around a car stopped at the stop sign, and barreld through the intersection into the other car.


JR was ticketed for failing to stop, and passing another vehicle illegally, one can only assume there will be talk of manslaughter charges.

[BacktoBasics]

This asshole should be charged with involuntary manslaughter. The league needs to look into this like they do in football as well.

[mffl89]

There seems to be a lot of unfortunate events happening to professional athletes in Denver.

[sa_butta]

Nevermind...
Very sad.

[resistanze]

Reminds me of Dany Heatley from the NHL...