[Deathwatch] Justin Strzelczyk,former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers lineman, 36

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Former Steelers lineman dies in fiery crash
Posted: Thursday September 30, 2004 5:13PM; Updated: Thursday September
30, 2004 5:16PM

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/football/nfl/09/30/bc.fbn.nflplay
erkilled.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

HERKIMER, N.Y. (AP) -- A former player for the Pittsburgh Steelers led
state troopers on a 40-mile chase along the New York State Thruway
during morning rush hour Thursday before dying in a fiery head-on
collision with a tanker truck carrying corrosive acid.

State police identified the victim as Justin Strzelczyk, 36, an
offensive lineman with the Steelers for nearly a decade until the team
released him in February 2000.

Troopers said Strzelczyk crashed his pickup truck into the westbound
tanker just moments after swerving around a tractor-trailer that had
pulled across the highway to block its path in the eastbound lanes.

Strzelczyk drove 15 miles on three tires and a rim after one of his
pickup's tires was punctured by metal spikes thrown into the road by
troopers.

"It could have been so much worse. We're fortunate that only one person
died," said Trooper Jim Simpson, a state police spokesman.

"It looked like an airplane crash. There was quite a lot of diesel fuel
spilled that was burning. The pickup was almost unrecognizable," he
said.

Strzelczyk, who lives near Pittsburgh in McCandless, Pa., had been
involved in another minor accident about an hour earlier just west of
Syracuse, which started the bizarre turn of events, Simpson said.

The hit-and-run occurred about 7:20 a.m. and state police put out an
alert for Strzelczyk's pickup. Troopers spotted him about 40 minutes
later still heading east on the Thruway just west of Canastota, midway
between Syracuse and Utica.

A second unit tried to stop the pickup by booby-trapping the road with
the "stop sticks," but Strzelczyk just kept on going, Simpson said. The
pickup was clocked at 88 mph, Simpson said.

"He was going down the road, flipping off the troopers. He even threw a
beer bottle at them," Simpson said.

A "good Samaritan" trucker, who police were unable to identify, saw the
chase and pulled his rig across the road. Instead of stopping, the
pickup drove across the grass median into the westbound lanes and
traveled about three miles in the wrong direction before the deadly
crash.

Commenting on the trucker's actions, State Police Capt. Donald Faughnan
said, "it's always a judgment call. Sometimes the actions work out,
sometimes they don't. We prefer civilians not get involved unless we
ask them to. But maybe (the trucker) helped prevent something worse."

The collision with the tanker occurred near Herkimer at about 8:15 a.m.
while the highway was busy with morning commuters and travelers. The
driver of the tanker suffered only minor injuries. No one else was
hurt.

Troopers said Strzelczyk was traveling at nearly 90 mph when the
collision occurred. He was ejected from the pickup truck and both
vehicles burst into flames.

The driver of the tanker was identified as Harold Jackson, 60, from
Bowman, S.C., police said. Though he was not hurt he was taken to a
hospital for observation because he recently had heart surgery.

Troopers said they were unsure why Strzelczyk was in upstate New York
and why he fled. They added that toxicology tests will be conducted.

The crash caused Thruway officials to close a 13-mile stretch of the
highway. The eastbound lanes re-opened after five hours. The westbound
lanes were not expected to reopen until later Thursday because of the
significant cleanup required to make the road passable, Simpson said.

Simpson said it also was fortunate that the tanker did not spill any of
its hazardous cargo.

As a precaution, residents in Herkimer, Ilion and Mohawk were advised
to stay indoors until the heavy smoke caused by the fire dissipated.

The 6-foot-3, 309-pound Strzelczyk, who grew up in West Seneca, N.Y. a
suburb of Buffalo, was an 11th-round pick in the 1990 NFL draft out of
the University of Maine. He spent nine years with the Steelers and
played in the 1995 Super Bowl.

Strzelczyk was one of the team's most durable players before a knee
injury against Kansas City in October 1998 required season-ending
surgery. He reinjured the knee preparing for training camp the next
season and needed another operation that kept him on injured reserve
for the entire 1999 season.

In his first eight seasons with Steelers, Strzelczyk missed just two
games, both in 1997. Over his nine-season career with Pittsburgh, he
played in 137 games and started in 75.

Nine months after his release by the Steelers, Strzelczyk was arraigned
for illegal possession of a gun. Police said he slammed a loaded
handgun onto a bar in Pittsburgh when discussing the presidential
election with a friend.