By Gregg Bell
The News Tribune
Frank Clark lost his father and three other family members in a fire last week in Cleveland.
The Seahawks’ defensive end shared his grief online this past weekend, writing: “Words can’t replace the pain.”
“My father was killed in an arson fire along with 3 other members of my family on the East Side of Cleveland,” Clark wrote on Twitter. “Pray for me and my family during this time.
The Cleveland Division of Fire confirmed four people, including Frank Clark III, died in the house fire in the South Collinwood neighborhood of East Cleveland on Jan. 30.
The younger Clark, 24, attended nearby Glenville High School. He went on to play college football at Michigan before the Seahawks made him their top draft choice in 2015.
Officials from the Cleveland Division of Fire told WEWS television that a woman survived the fire by jumping from the burning building. Officials said she is the mother of a 3-year-old boy, grandmother of an 8-year-old girl, wife of the 46-year-old man and aunt to the 44-year-old Frank Clark III. The bodies of the latter four were found in the home.
Officials told WEWS the husband and wife were sleeping on the second floor of the home when the fire awakened them. The mother tried to rescue her son, but was repelled by smoke. She escaped by jumping through a second-floor window.
The Seahawks on Sunday night released a statement of their condolences.
“The entire Seahawks family is mourning with Frank Clark and his loved one after their tragic loss,” the team said. “Our thoughts and prayers will be pouring out to Frank and his family during their time of grieving.”
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