Kiel's friends tried to help ex-NFL star

San Diego -- Friends of Terrence Kiel desperately attempted to lift a sedan off the former San Diego Chargers safety after his fatal car accident, a witness says.

Witness Bill Alsup said after the 27-year-old football player crashed his sedan into a cinder-block wall, friends from a nearby party tried in vain to free him from the vehicle before police intervened, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

"They seemed a little distraught that they couldn't do more," Alsup said of Friday night's accident.

Police would not confirm that the party had been thrown by Chargers linebacker Stephen Cooper, who owns a home near the crash scene.

A female witness told police she saw Kiel allegedly driving the wrong way down the road prior to losing control of his vehicle, the Union-Tribune said.

The newspaper said the former Texas A&M standout, who was dismissed by the Chargers last year for alleged drug use, died of related injuries while being transported to the hospital.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.