Bengal star Chris Henry dies at 26

There were reports of his death earlier, which were then countered as being only rumors, but according to current sources, the news is real this time around. The star, indeed, has passed away.

The sad demise
The police have confirmed the news of his demise post the accident he had in Charlotte. The death occurred at around 6.30 a.m. ET.

Henry had fallen out of his pick-up truck after having a dispute with his girl friend Loleini Tonga. She was the one driving, and while they were arguing, at some point, he fell out of the truck on the road.

He was rushed to a local hospital where his condition had been critical for hours.

His agent, Wendy Simms, had announced on Wednesday, that Henry was “battling for life”. He had further added that “We are asking everyone to pray for Chris.”

Even though no charges have been filed, homicide detectives are investigating the accident.

Marvin Lewis, Bengals coach, has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. He had earlier briefed his team about Henry, but it is not known whether he was aware of Henry's death at that time. WLWT.com will be covering the conference live.

Henry had been playing for five years, and had already played eight games this season. But a broken arm in November had ended this year's stint. He was on leave due to his injury.

Before the season of 2009 had started, Henry had said in an interview that he felt “blessed”.

He had said, “I don’t live the way I did in the past. I kind of plan my days out and take it one day at a time and stay away from the wrong people. I’m not partying anymore. I’m just focused on football right now and my family. I don’t associate with the same people. I’ve completely changed everything.”