Bengals WR Chris Henry dies today

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry died today, a day after falling out of the back of a pickup truck during what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said Henry died at 6:36 a.m. Henry was 26.

"We knew him in a different way than his public persona," Bengals owner Mike Brown said of the player who was suspended five times during his career. "He had worked through the troubles in his life and had finally seemingly reached the point where everything was going to blossom. And he was going to have the future we all wanted for him. It's painful to us. We feel it in our hearts, and we will miss him."

Police spokeswoman Rosalyn Harrington said homicide detectives have been assigned to the case but had no further information.

Henry was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after being found on a residential road. Police said the dispute began at a home about a half-mile away, and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee was driving away from the residence.

Police said at some point when she was driving, Henry "came out of the back of the vehicle." Police have not released the 911 tapes, and Harrington wouldn't say if the woman, whom police would not identify, was present at the scene when police arrived.