The funeral for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins is set to take place on Friday, a two important people will not be in attendance. According to USA Today, Haskins’ parents announced they will not be at the funeral services at the Allegheny Center Alliance Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And the reason for their absence has to do with Haskins’ wife.
“We have never met or spoken to the wife, and we didn’t want our son’s funeral service to be the place we met her for the first time,” said Dwayne Sr. and Tamara Haskins said in a statement to USA Today. Haskins died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after attempting to cross an interstate and was hit by a dump truck. He was 24 years old. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Haskins was also struck by a second vehicle.
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Haskins’ wife, Kalabrya, called 911 to let them know that the late Steelers quarterback ran out of gas and was walking to get assistance. “I kept calling and kept calling,” Kalabrya told the 911 dispatcher. “He wasn’t answering. Eventually, after 10 minutes of calling the phone, eventually it cut off. It’s not working now. I had his location. I just want somebody to go in the area and see if his car is there and if he’s OK and if anything happened to him.”
During the call, the 911 dispatcher said, “So, I don’t want you to panic but I am going to be honest with you. “We do have an incident on the highway but I can’t confirm if that’s your husband or not.” In a separate 911 call, a panicked witness said they saw the incident.
Haskins was selected by the Washington Commanders No. 15 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent two seasons in Washington before signing with the Steelers in January 2021. He didn’t see any action during the 2021 season as he was the team’s third-string quarterback behind Mason Rudolph and recently retired Ben Roethlisberger.
“I am devastated and at a loss for words with the unfortunate passing of Dwayne Haskins,” Tomlin said in a statement. “He quickly became part of our Steelers family upon his arrival in Pittsburgh and was one of our hardest workers, both on the field and in our community. Dwayne was a great teammate, but even more so a tremendous friend to so many. I am truly heartbroken. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kalabrya, and his entire family during this difficult time.”
