The tragic death of the former football player — not yet 35 — sent shockwaves through New Orleans and the nation. Some went to bed with the story on their hearts, updates still trickling in; others awoke to the atrocious reality of it all: a car collision in New Orleans’ Lower Garden District leading to the loss of a life.
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The news, for some, is still breaking, fresh for each person who wakes up this Sunday morning. Some former Saints teammates of Smith left social-media imprints mere hours and minutes before his death. Yet to react, they may not yet know.
But for those who saw the news, the grief in their posts was palpable. Saints past and present, in real time, are starting to remember and lament the loss of a team captain, a friend, a father — a player, nay, a human gone too soon.
And former Ohio State teammates, too, reacted to the tragic news — including Beanie Wells.
A photo posted by Jeremy Shockey (@jeremyshockey) on Apr 10, 2016 at 5:00am PDT
The barrage of heartbreak, disbelief and incredulity remains raw and hard to read, a reality of our time — when we witness remembrance in real time, with wounds still fresh.