Thomas Paralyzed After Car Accident

NFL star Derrick Thomas was paralyzed from the waist down after suffering a broken neck in a car crash that killed a friend.

Thomas has use of his upper body and it was not clear whether he will regain use of his legs, the Kansas City Chiefs said Monday.

The nine-time Pro Bowl linebacker will be transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Miami, said team physician Jon Browne.

“It takes time to check these things out,” Browne said. “Improvement can come slowly or in rapid bursts.”

Teammates and friends gathered to comfort Thomas. Chief President Carl Peterson and Coach Gunther Cunningham were joined by Steve Palermo, a former American League umpire who was shot in 1991 and left partially paralyzed.

“Do not rule anything in,” said Palermo, a Kansas City resident and friend of Thomas. “And do not rule anything out. He understands the gravity of it. But he’s also very optimistic.”

Thomas suffered fractures in vertebrae in his neck and back.

“Derrick’s injuries are primarily to the spinal column,” Browne said. “He does have some neurological impairment which is continuing to evolve.”

Thomas, 33, and two companions were heading to the Kansas City airport at the time of the accident. They were planning to fly to St. Louis for the NFC championship game when their car flipped on an icy road Sunday.

Thomas and the man who was killed were thrown from the car. Investigators said they were not wearing seat belts, but a third man who was in the car was wearing one. He was treated at a hospital and released.

The dead man was identified as Michael Tellis, 49, of Kansas City, Kan. He was a close friend of Thomas who helped the player set up such projects as a charity golf tournament that had become an annual event in Kansas City.

“Forget about the football aspect of it,” Cunningham said. “He has given a lot to this city and this organization. It’s a tough thing to deal with.”

With one of the quickest first moves of any defender in the league, Thomas became known for his “sack and strip” move. He would close fast on a quarterback’s blind side and hack at his arm to knock the ball out of his hand.

The Chiefs’ defense was designed around the quick-hitting, 6-foot-3, 255-pound Thomas.

He was a mainstay in a consistently tough defense that helped the Chiefs become one of only three NFL teams to win 100 games in the ‘90s.

“God willing, all the initial reports will be off and he’ll be OK,” Chief center Tim Grunhard said. “Right now, I’m not concerned with Derrick Thomas the football player, I’m worried about Derrick Thomas the person.”