Death
On Sunday, April 29, 2007, Hancock was killed in a motor vehicle accident when the 2007 Ford Explorer he was driving while intoxicated struck the rear of a flat bed tow truck at 12:35 a.m. Central Time. The truck was reportedly in the left lane assisting another vehicle that was involved in a prior accident.
A police report revealed that Hancock was intoxicated at the time of his fatal accident with a blood-alcohol level of 0.157, nearly double the legal limit in Missouri. Police found 10.95 grams of marijuana and a pipe in his vehicle, although toxicology reports came back revealing that there were no drugs in his system. Hancock was texting on his cell phone when the accident occurred and was not wearing a seatbelt. An accident reconstruction team determined that Hancock was driving 68 mph (109 km/h) in a 55 mph (89 km/h) zone.
The Cardinals' scheduled game with the Chicago Cubs later that day, that was supposed to air nationwide on Sunday Night Baseball, was postponed due to his accident. The game was eventually made up on September 15, 2007, a 3-2 Cubs victory.
Hancock's death marked the second time in five years the Cardinals had mourned the loss of a teammate, the first being the death of pitcher Darryl Kile in 2002 with a coronary artery blockage. He was the second active MLB player to be killed in an accident in less than a year, the first being the plane crash of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle.
Three days earlier, his teammates were worried when they could not reach Hancock after he had overslept and had not shown up for the game on time, likening it to the events leading up to the sudden death of Kile. Hancock did not answer until the "20th call", having thought the start time was later than it actually was. Hancock was expected to be fined by the Cardinals after the incident.
On May 31, 2007, it was reported that Hancock had been involved in another accident involving his GMC Denali three nights before his fatal crash involving a rented Ford Explorer. Hancock's final appearance for the team was April 28, 2007, giving up one run in three innings of relief.
Read more about this topic: Josh Hancock
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