Charlotte Hornets' Bobby Phills Killed In Car Crash

Jet, Jan 31, 2000

Bobby Phills of the Charlotte Hornets was killed recently in a car crash shortly after a morning practice at the team's arena.

The 30-year-old guard had just left a shootaround at Charlotte Coliseum at about 11 a.m. when the three-vehicle accident happened, club spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said.

Police said Phills, who was driving a black Porsche, was speeding when he lost control of his car, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided into another car, which was driven by Robert Woolard, 31, the Chicago SunTimes reported. Woolard's car then was rear-ended by a minivan taxi driven by Yao Agbegbon, 33.

The team said Phills was killed instantly. The two other drivers were hospitalized and listed in stable condition.

News reports quoted sources who said Phills might have been racing teammate David Wesley, whose name was included on the accident report because witnesses said he also was speeding when the accident occurred, the Sun-Times reported.

This was the second fatal traffic accident in the past nine months involving a professional athlete from North Carolina, and the second serious traffic accident this season involving Hornets' players.

In May, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Steve Chiasson was killed after he lost control of his pickup truck in Raleigh. Tests showed he was legally drunk. In October, Hornets' Eldridge Recasner suffered a partially collapsed lung and a broken shoulder after teammate Derrick Coleman, who was driving the vehicle in which Recasner was a passenger, collided with a tractor-trailer. Coleman was arrested on a drunken driving charge.

The Hornets' game against the Chicago Bulls, which was scheduled the night of the Phills' accident, was postponed.

"I went up in my room and cried for an hour," Bulls guard Fred Hoiberg, who was in Charlotte for the Bulls-Hornets game, said about the news of the accident to the SunTimes. "It really hits home with me because he has two kids about the same age as mine, and I know the impact a father has on kids like that ... it's a very tragic day for this league."

The NBA honored Phills' memory by preceding every league game on the day of his death with a moment of silence.

"This is the ultimate tragedy, and our immediate thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kendall, children and family," said Hornets owner George Shinn, who visited the crash scene with other officials. "Not only was Bobby a tremendous person, but a great husband, father and role model that everyone respected and admired. He was someone that you would want your children to be like."

Phills, a 6-foot-5 defensive stopper and a team leader, was one of the Hornets' top reserves. He joined the team in 1997 after six years with Cleveland. He was in his third year of a seven-year, $33 million contract. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game for his career at the end of last season and was fourth on the team in scoring this season. Phills also was a finalist for the NBA Sportsman of the Year award in 1998.

A native of Baton Rouge, LA, Phills attended Southern University in Baton Rouge and earned a bachelor's degree in animal science (pre-veterinary medicine). His father, Dr. Bobby Phills, is dean of agriculture and home economics at Florida A&M University. One of the most active Hornets players in the community, Phills was a tireless volunteer for children's charities and related organizations.

"He touched all of our lives," said Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations. "It's shocking."

Phills is survived by his wife, Kendall, and two children, Bobby Ray III, 3, and Kerstie, 1.