NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Former Washington State football star Rien Long was in critical condition Tuesday after he crashed his sports car into a rock wall while driving onto an interstate.
Nashville police said Long, 26, was driving too fast down an on-ramp to Interstate 40 near downtown just before midnight Monday.
His 2005 Ford Mustang started sliding at the bottom of the ramp, went up the embankment and hit a rock wall on the driver’s side before rolling over onto the roof.
Long was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Police said he was in critical condition, but hospital officials declined to give details on his condition Tuesday morning.
A passenger, 28-year-old Wesley Stephens, was treated for non-critical injuries.
Long, a graduate of Anacortes High School, won the Outland Trophy and was an All-American defensive tackle as a junior at Washington State in 2002. The Outland Trophy is is awarded annually to the nation’s top college lineman,
The Tennessee Titans drafted Long in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft, and he started five of 39 games through his first three seasons with 9½ career sacks and 99 career tackles.
But he missed the 2006 season with a torn Achilles’ tendon, then was placed on injured reserve for 2007 with a knee injury before being waived.
Several Titans officials visited Long at the hospital Monday night.
“We would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to Rien and his family during this difficult time,” the team said in a statement.
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