PHOENIX (AP) — Condolences poured in for retired NFL player Todd Heap and his family on Saturday, a day after police say the former Pro Bowl tight end accidentally ran over his 3-year-old daughter with a truck, killing her.
The Baltimore Ravens, Heap’s longtime former team, called the accident “knee-buckling news and an overwhelming tragedy.”
Jay Feely, who played with Heap on the Arizona Cardinals, wrote on Twitter : “My heart is broken for Todd Heap and his family. One of the kindest persons I’ve ever met and a man who lives for his family.”
Heap spent 10 seasons with the Ravens, who selected him in the first round out of Arizona State in 2001. He spent two seasons with the Cardinals before retiring with 42 career touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl after the 2002 and ’03 seasons and was a second-team All-Pro in 2003. Heap was inducted into the Raven’s Ring of Honor in 2014.
Heap is from a Mormon family that stretches its lineage to the early days of the faith. Since 2007, he and his wife have operated a foundation to help sick and disadvantaged children. He talked about family being the most important thing in his life in a 2015 interview with Kevin Byrne , the Ravens’ senior vice president for public and community relations.
In a statement, the Cardinals called the death “a grief that is beyond words and one which no family should experience. Hopefully the prayers, love and support of their incredible group of friends and family provide him the comfort that along with their strong faith will lead them through this unspeakably difficult time.”