Former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas' death has been mourned intensely by those knew him, and referred to as just another example of a talented athlete and quality person gone too soon.
That may still be the case, but reports have emerged over the past two days that Bironas allegedly engaged in some fairly bizarre behavior in the hours leading up to his death.
First, it was reported that Bironas' wife, Rachel Bradshaw, did not realize that her husband had left their Nashville home. She reported him missing to the police Saturday night after he said "goodnight" to her at 10:30 p.m., only to disappear shortly thereafter.
She claimed that Bironas was not intoxicated, and that they had not been arguing.
Then yesterday, a 911 call was released, in which a woman described a strange and seemingly dangerous exchange with Bironas minutes before the crash occurred.
"He is dangerous, he is drunk or something. He tried to start a fight with us,'' the woman said. "My husband ran down there to see what is going on. I just want to tell the police there is something wrong with him. He is dangerous, he is drunk or he is on drugs. There is something wrong with him. He gave us a mean look. We don't even know him, and he tried to run us off the road."
The call was received at 11:03 p.m. Saturday, and the woman said the car was a white SUV.
Now, a new report has emerged that Bironas allegedly threatened to kill four Belmont University students and attempted to sideswipe their truck ahead of the incident with the woman and her husband.
Connor Fraley, one of the students, told the Tennessean that Bironas engaged in a "high-speed chase" with him and his three friends after initially making "threatening comments at an intersection," shortly beforehand.
"His window was down, and we pulled up and I said, 'Hey man, just a heads up, something's burning from your exhaust. Your exhaust smells horrible, just wanted to let you know,''' Fraley said. "He looked over at me and said 'I'm going to kill everybody in your (expletive) vehicle.' It was so random, so bizarre I was like, 'What?' And he said the exact same thing again."
Fraley said Bironas followed them after they pulled away from the intersection, attempting to sideswipe them, and even speeding up after they initially did the same.
"The girls in the back seat were starting to freak out because he was swerving on the road in between lanes, all over the place,'' Fraley said. "We had no idea who he was and why he was trying to harm us. It was a fight or flight situation and, unfortunately, we had to take flight at about 110 miles per hour. It was very scary."
The next day, Fraley's roommate texted him a picture of Bironas.
"As soon as I saw that face, I knew for a fact that it was Rob Bironas in that vehicle chasing us," Fraley said.
