Car accident kills father of Chargers' Tomlinson
WACO, Texas — The father of San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson died Friday in a car accident that killed another man believed to be related to the athlete, authorities said.
Oliver Tomlinson, 71, of Chilton was killed in the 1:30 p.m. one-vehicle rollover, said Charlie Morgan, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman.
The pickup's driver, Ronald C. McClain, 48, was rushed by ambulance to Waco's Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, where he died about 4:40 p.m., Morgan said. McClain is believed to be another relative of Tomlinson's, Morgan said.
The athlete was returning to Texas after being notified about the accident, Morgan said.
Witnesses reported that a tire on the 1969 Chevrolet pickup truck blew, causing the truck to swerve out of control and flip over near an intersection east of Waco near Asa. Both men were thrown from the truck, Morgan said.
Jewel Tomlinson, Oliver's wife and LaDainian's stepmother, said her husband and McClain had been returning to Waco after a trip to the family home in Tomlinson Hill, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported in its online edition Friday. She said Oliver had been staying in Waco recently while recovering from an illness.
LaDainian Tomlinson, who won the NFL's MVP award in 2006, played football at Waco's University High School before going on to star at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
