Ex-LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy, 24, was found dead in his car from an apparent suicide after being chased by police in Houston, a report issued Sunday by the Harrison County sheriff’s office in Texas said. Lacy already had criminal charges pending against him from a fatal automobile accident in Louisiana last December that had tainted his NFL future.
An incident that resulted in a police pursuit
The sheriff’s department stated there were first dispatched to a weapons disturbance by a family member reporting Lacy had engaged in a verbal fight with her and that he had fired a weapon into the ground. Responding officers were told that he had left the scene in a car and, 20 minutes later, a “Constable’s Office unit observed Lacy and tried to conduct a traffic stop on the car. Lacy fled and a vehicle pursuit ensued over several miles,” until his car crashed.
The constables, “upon trying to take Lacy into custody and remove him from the vehicle, found he had received what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” the sheriff’s office reported, noting that Lacy was dead at the scene.
We are saddened by the tragic loss of former LSU football student-athlete Kyren Lacy,” LSU wrote in a statement. “Our condolences and prayers go out to his family and loved ones, his former teammates, and coaches whose lives were affected by his passing.”
Lacy, who paced LSU in touchdown receptions with nine last year, had announced for this month’s NFL draft. But his draft status fell off the charts after his reported participation in an accident that killed a 78-year-old man in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.
Herman Hall of Thibodaux, who was in a head-on collision, succumbed to injuries after being taken to a hospital, according to a state police report.
State Police Troop C officials in Gray, Louisiana, said Lacy left the crash site without summoning assistance. Lacy was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run and reckless driving of a vehicle.
Hearing of the Grand Jury and Legal Developments
CBS affiliate WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge reported that the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office said Lacy had died a day before a grand jury was set to begin hearing evidence on his alleged involvement in the fatal crash.
In an interview with WAFB, Lacy’s attorney emphasized that the Lafourche Parish District Attorney had not officially charged him.
“Kyren was a bright young man and was buried beneath the weight of an irresponsible and biased process,” the attorney explained. “There never was an assumption of innocence that was exemplified by the NFL pulling his draft card over allegations without giving him the remotest opportunity to defend himself. The pressure and perception probably became too much to bear.”
