Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jeff Gladney and his girlfriend Andrea Palacios died in a car crash this week.
Gladney was just 25 years old, Palacios was 26.
According to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, the accident occurred at just before 2:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30. A speeding white vehicle containing Gladney and Palacios reportedly clipped another car in front of it. This led to them losing control and eventually hitting a beam on Woodall Rodgers Freeway, in Dallas.
There were two people in the car that was clipped – but they apparently emerged from this incident unscathed.
In the days since the accident, new imagery has come out involving Gladney and Palacios. Among it, a clip of the pair partying together earlier in the day:
Jeff Gladney and his girlfriend Mercedes Palacios just hours before they would lose their lives…. pic.twitter.com/UNBm2p6Ukr
— Bacon, Grits, Eggs (@reddawg77089) May 31, 2022
With two young lives lost too soon, everyone involved has taken this tragic incident very hard.
“We are devastated to learn of Jeff Gladney’s passing. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who are mourning this tremendous loss,” the Cardinals said in a statement.
Gladney was a first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings back in 2020. The former TCU standout was released from the team last August after being indicted on an assault charge involving his former girlfriend.
The case eventually went to trial and Gladney was found not guilty, but not before being forced to miss all of the 2021 season. He was just signed by Arizona in March 2022.
This is just the latest automobile-related tragedy to hit the NFL over the past year. Between Dwayne Haskins’ sad passing and all of the unfortunate details that have come out about it, and of the course the crash that could put a Las Vegas Raiders star in prison for two decades – it has been one thing after another.
That’s one way to do it. https://t.co/hvBsvrVAuA
— Game 7 (@game7__) June 1, 2022
Hopefully the league will step in and provide these young athletes with an alternative to driving, because clearly this current way of doing things isn’t working.
Will that happen? It’s impossible to know.
Should it? Absolutely.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
