Police: Bengals' Henry dies day after dispute

A popular pro football player with the Cincinnati Bengals has died after falling out of the bed of a moving truck being driven by his fiancée.

TheGrio Staff

Dec 17, 2009

A popular pro football player with the Cincinnati Bengals has died after falling out of the bed of a moving truck being driven by his fiancée.

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry was away from the team on injured reserve after breaking his arm in a game last month against Baltimore.

Wednesday he was in Charlotte, North Carolina staying at his fiancée’s house when police say the two began arguing.

“She got into the truck to leave the scene and he jumped into the back of the bed of the truck. She started to drive away,” said Bob Fey with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

A 911 caller behind the truck described seeing a man with his arm in a cast.

“He’s beating on the back of this truck’s window and the truck is driving, I don’t know if he’s trying to break in it or something. It just looks crazy,” said the 911 caller.

Henry eventually fell out of the truck sustaining injuries that led to his death Thursday morning.

“Its a very sad day for our team, for our organization, our fans,” said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.

Loleini Tonga, mother of Henry’s children, was planning to marry him next year but she is now at the center of a homicide investigation.

Henry had his share of off-field problems in five years with the Bengals.

He was arrested for DUI, drug charges including marijuana possession.

He was suspended from the team twice and even fired, once.

But he had turned his life around enough to be given a second chance on the team now devastated by his loss.

“We liked him, he had worked through troubles in his life and had gotten to the point where everything was going to blossom,” said Bengals owner and president Mike Brown.

As further evidence Henry was trying to change, he had just been tattooed with a single word “blessed”

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