Chris Henry threatened to kill himself moments before fatal fall
By Kyle Koster on December 18, 2009 11:56 AM
A neighbor of Chris Henry's fiancee says that Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry begged her to stop the truck or he would kill himself just moments before his death.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have said that a domestic dispute lead to the fatal injuries Henry sustained when he fell off a moving pickup driven by Loleini Tonga Wednesday.
Tonga's neighbor, Lee Hardy, was perched on a 15-foot ladder cutting back some trees when he saw the yellow pickup "zooming" up the Tongas' gravel driveway just a few yards away. Hardy said a shirtless black man clung to the top and side of the truck while standing in the bed, begging her to stop the vehicle.
"He was banging on the top, on the doors, screaming at the lady, 'We need to talk,'" Hardy said. "He said, 'If you take off, I'm going to jump off the truck and kill myself.'"
Hardy said she stopped, hesitating at the end of the driveway, and took off.
Soon afterward, authorities received two calls alerting them of the incident, which ended just a half-mile from Tonga's family home. Police say she stopped immediately after he fell from the truck.
No charges have been filed in connection with the death.