OBITUARIES / PASSINGS / William Reedy
William Reedy, 72, who was convicted of drunk driving in a 1989 crash that killed ex-New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers manager Billy Martin, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday at his home in Milford, Mich.
Reedy was with his longtime friend Martin in a pickup truck that crashed near Martin’s Binghamton, N.Y.-area farm on Christmas 1989. Reedy first said he’d been driving, then said he lied to protect Martin’s reputation.
A jury found him guilty despite his claim.
Reedy owned the Hummer bar and Reedy’s Saloon near Tiger Stadium, the Detroit team’s home until 1999.
A Detroit native, Reedy served in the Army as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, according to the Detroit Free Press newspaper. Besides owning the Detroit taverns, he was a longtime administrative assistant to former Detroit Councilman Jack Kelley.
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