Priest Is Charged in Death of Player

A Roman Catholic priest was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a drunken Pittsburgh player who fell through a church ceiling after a cookout at which the priest was accused of serving alcohol to underage drinkers.

The Rev. Henry Krawczyk resigned last month as pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe parish in the Pittsburgh suburb of Homestead. Billy Gaines, a 19-year-old sophomore, died about 20 hours after falling June 18 at St. Anne Church, which is part of Krawczyk’s parish.

Krawczyk was charged with six counts of furnishing alcohol to minors, one count of reckless endangerment and one count of involuntary manslaughter.

Authorities say Gaines’ teammate, David Abdul, was exploring a crawl space in the church ceiling with Gaines, who fell through and smacked his head on a church pew. The crawl space was about 30 feet above the church sanctuary.

Gaines, a wide receiver and kick returner from Ijamsville, Md., and Abdul were staying temporarily at St. Anne Church because a fire destroyed their apartment.

Police investigated why the players were served alcohol despite being under 21. An autopsy showed Gaines’ blood-alcohol content was 0.16%, higher than the state’s legal limit of 0.1% for adult drivers.

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Fresno State quarterback Paul Pinegar is not expected to play in Saturday’s season opener at No. 12 Tennessee because of a muscle tear in his right shoulder.

Bulldog Coach Pat Hill moved Jeff Grady to the starting spot.

Redshirt freshman Tommy Barrington will be the No. 2 quarterback, although Pinegar will dress for the game, Hill said.

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Chris Hurd, Washington State’s No. 2 quarterback entering fall camp, will not play this season after an examination revealed damage caused by a congenital knee problem. Coach Bill Doba said Hurd is planning to have surgery.