Falcons Are Hit With Another Tragedy

For the second time in a month, the Atlanta Falcons were jolted by the death of a teammate in a traffic accident Monday when tight end Brad Beckman was killed on an icy interstate highway in Suwanee, Ga.

Gwinnett County police said Beckman was a passenger in a car that bumped into the rear of another vehicle, skidded and was hit broadside by a truck.

The accident happened about 4:30 a.m. in icy conditions.

The driver of the car, former NFL tight end Jeff Modesitt, was in critical condition with unspecified injuries.

The tragedy is the latest in a series for the Falcons.

Rookie tackle Ralph Norwood was killed on Nov. 24 when he apparently fell asleep, ran off the road and hit a tree on a Gwinnett County street not far from where Beckman was killed.

In October 1988, Falcon defensive back David Croudip died at his home of heart failure after consuming a mixture of fruit juice and cocaine.

Beckman, who would have been 25 on Dec. 31, was in his second season in the NFL, his first with the Falcons. He played college football at Nebraska Omaha.