Wilson, Receiver for ’85 Bruins, Dies on Freeway

Al Wilson, who played for UCLA in the Rose Bowl game last January, was killed early Wednesday when he walked or ran into traffic on the San Diego Freeway. L.A. County Sheriff’s investigators called it an apparent suicide.

Wilson, 23, apparently despondent because he was not signed by a pro football team this fall, had disappeared from his home in Carson for several days earlier this month. When he returned, he told a Times reporter, “I just needed time to be alone.”

Officers were called to the scene of an accident on 213th Street below I-405 at about 5 a.m. Wednesday. They found a pickup truck, which turned out to be Wilson’s, smashed into a concrete pillar but said the accident was minor. They couldn’t find the driver but minutes later were informed of an accident on the freeway involving a pedestrian. Officers said Wilson apparently climbed onto the freeway, where he was hit by several vehicles, including an RTD bus. He died at the scene of injuries to his head and torso.

Wilson, a 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver from Carson, went to UCLA from El Camino College in 1983. He caught 20 passes for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Bruins. In the Rose Bowl, he caught one pass.

“We are all shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the death of Al Wilson,” Coach Terry Donahue said in a prepared statement. “During his three years here at UCLA, he was an important and popular member of our football team. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Al’s parents and the other members of his family.”

Wilson worked out with the San Francisco 49ers as a free agent but was not signed to a contract.