Former NFL player Dennis Byrd killed in car accident

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Dennis Byrd, the former NFL defensive lineman whose career was ended by neck injury, was killed today in a car accident. He was 51.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Byrd was killed in a two-vehicle collision on Oklahoma 88 north of Claremore.

The Tulsa World first reported Byrd's death. He starred at Tulsa before playing for the New York Jets

The highway patrol said the crash happened about 11:15 a.m. between Oologah and Claremore. It said a 17-year-old Claremore youth driving a 2000 Ford Explorer northbound on Oklahoma 88 veered into the oncoming lane, striking the 2004 Hummer H2 that Byrd was driving.

Byrd was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 17-year-old driver and a 12-year-old passenger in Byrd's vehicle were taken in critical condition to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa.