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Louisiana State Police released video and records on Tuesday related to a fatal crash in December 2024 they allege was caused by former LSU football player Kyren Lacy. Their investigation had come into question in recent days after a video was posted of an interview Lacy’s attorney conducted with a Louisiana TV station that cast doubt on whether Lacy was responsible for the crash that killed 78-year-old Herman Hall in Chackbay, Louisiana.

“Since the incident occurred, the Louisiana State Police never reported that the green [Dodge] Charger impacted any of the involved vehicles,” the Louisiana State Police department said in their video released Tuesday. “However, all evidence collected supports the conclusion that Lacy’s reckless operation of the green Charger in oncoming traffic triggered the chain of events involving the other drivers, ultimately resulting in the fatal crash.”

Lacy, 24, died April 12 in Houston of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in his car during a pursuit by authorities, according to a Harris County sheriff’s report. An arrest warrant from January stated that Lacy was cited with felony negligent homicide and hit and run driving and misdemeanor reckless driving. The Lafourche Parish district attorney’s office had not formally charged Lacy and had been preparing to send the case to a grand jury for an indictment on April 14.

According to Lacy’s attorney Matthew Ory and state police, around noon on Dec. 17, 2024, Lacy was driving southbound on Louisiana Highway 20 in a green Charger and was passing vehicles in a no-passing zone just before a collision. His car never collided with another car. Ory did not respond to ESPN’s requests for comment.

In an arrest warrant affidavit dated Jan. 8, police said Lacy’s 2023 Dodge Charger was traveling south at “an extremely high rate of speed in a posted 40 mph speed zone,” passing four vehicles — including an 18-wheel truck with a trailer — on a highly congested road in Chackbay. As Lacy’s vehicle attempted to pass, it “rapidly approached a northbound pick-up truck.” The affidavit said the pickup driver took emergency action by braking and driving off the roadway to the right, coming to a controlled stop. Police said the driver behind the pickup steered left to avoid a head-on crash “with the rapidly approaching” Charger.

That driver struck a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento in which Hall was a passenger.

In the compiled video narrative, police included video of Lacy returning to the southbound lane. “As the green Dodge Charger returns to the southbound lane,” the narrator says, “aggressive braking and engine deceleration are immediately followed by a crash that can be heard on surveillance footage.”

Lacy passed the crash scene and continued along the highway. On police body cam footage, one witness said, “a green Charger caused all this.” The witnesses’ faces were blurred on the video.

Police said they used 21 separate video cameras to capture the “uninterrupted path of the Charger” from the crash scene to a business 11 miles away. Police also said “evidence supports” that less than 10 minutes after the crash, Lacy’s first outgoing phone call was to a Baton Rouge-area personal injury and defense attorney.

In the interview Ory conducted with the local TV station, he cited data he said he received from an investigation by the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office. Ory said that although Lacy passed four vehicles in a no-passing zone prior to the crash, Lacy returned to the proper lane 92.3 yards before the accident — enough time, he contended, to not have triggered the collision. He showed video of Lacy passing the crash scene post-impact.

Ory said that data from the crash investigation shows the car that hit the vehicle that Hall was riding in was tailgating the pickup truck, and the woman swerved left to avoid hitting the truck when the truck braked. Ory said police originally issued the woman a citation for following too close and later amended the ticket to one for crossing left of center.

Ory also showed body cam footage video that suggested an officer later coerced the pickup driver to testify that Lacy’s green car caused the accident. In the video, the driver of the pickup truck states: “That lady in the back of me, she didn’t see what’s happening. That’s how she caused that wreck.” The driver did not sign the witness statement, according to Ory.

The district attorney’s office did not return a call from ESPN.

Louisiana State Police provided redacted reports of the accident, body cam footage and a video narrative of the investigation.

“While we recognize that external narratives may arise, often based on selective information, we urge the public to rely on the full body of facts,” said Col. Robert P. Hodges, superintendent of the Louisiana State Police.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill told ESPN through a spokesperson that she has been in touch with state police about independently reviewing all the witness statements and evidence in the case.

In a follow-up statement Tuesday morning, Murrill said, “The evidence is not disputed here. The Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office was prepared to present the case to a grand jury that showed Kyren Lacy returning to his lane. However, that does not absolve Kyren Lacy of responsibility in this matter. Every witness identified the green Charger Kyren Lacy was determined to be driving, as having put the events in motion that led to the head-on collision, which killed 78-year-old veteran Herman Hall.”

In Louisiana, a person can be guilty of vehicular homicide whether the death was “caused proximately or caused directly,” meaning a driver did not have to make contact with the vehicle to be at fault, according to state statute.

The statement said the district attorney planned to bring the matter to the grand jury on April 14 so it could decide if there were “appropriate charges to indict on, if any.” Shortly before Lacy’s death on April 12, a female relative called police around 11:15 p.m. to report that she had been in an argument with Lacy, who had discharged a firearm into the ground. When officers arrived, Lacy had already driven away. About 20 minutes later, when an officer tried to make a traffic stop on Lacy, he fled and officers pursued. Several miles later, Lacy’s vehicle crashed.

According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department report, “information indicates Lacy shot himself during the pursuit and prior to the vehicle crashing.” A handgun was recovered inside the vehicle.

The report posted online does not identify the type of vehicle Lacy was driving. The Harris County Sheriff’s Department has not yet released additional records of the incident in response to ESPN’s request.

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Canes’ rookie D Legault has surgery on cut hand

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Canes' rookie D Legault has surgery on cut hand

RALEIGH, N.C. — Carolina Hurricanes rookie defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault had surgery to repair multiple torn extensor tendons in his right hand after getting cut by a skate blade during a game over the weekend in Toronto.

General manager Eric Tulsky announced Tuesday that the operation was completed on Monday by Dr. Harrison Tuttle at Raleigh Orthopaedic.

Legault’s hand was sliced by one of Nick Robertson‘s skates during a scrum at the end of the first period, while the Maple Leafs forward was prone on the ice following a hit.

The team put Legault on injured reserve and said he was expected to miss three to four months. The Hurricanes in a statement thanked the Leafs’ medical staff for swift and decisive assistance in triage care of the injury.

Legault, 22, played in his first eight NHL games this season as injuries piled up on the blue line for Carolina.

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Avs reward rookie Brindley with 2-year extension

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Avs reward rookie Brindley with 2-year extension

DENVER — Gavin Brindley was rewarded with a two-year contract extension less than 48 hours after scoring his first NHL overtime winner.

“Pretty funny how that works,” the Colorado Avalanche rookie forward cracked Tuesday before their game against Anaheim. “But yeah, very fortunate. Happy that they believed in me.”

Brindley’s new deal will be worth $850,000 next season if he plays in the NHL and $900,000 no matter what level he suits up at in 2027-28, according to a person familiar with the move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because terms were not disclosed.

The 5-foot-8, 173-pound Brindley was acquired by Colorado on June 27 as part of a deal that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus. Brindley made an immediate impression in Colorado’s training camp with his persistence and grit, leading to a spot on the opening-day roster.

He has three goals this season, including the OT winner at Vancouver on Sunday when he knocked in his own rebound. The 21-year-old from Florida became the seventh-youngest player in franchise history to notch an OT-winning goal.

“I think he can be a top-six forward,” said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who currently has Brindley on the fourth line. “He plays bigger than his size. The motor, the relentlessness, the skill level, and the brain to go with it, is all there.”

His deal was still so new that even his linemate, Parker Kelly, hadn’t heard about it. Once Brindley came off the ice following the morning skate, Kelly congratulated him.

“Super happy for him,” Kelly said. “He deserved it. He came into camp, did really well, made his presence known. He’s been playing the right way and has great details to his game.”

A 2023 second-round pick by the Blue Jackets, Brindley signed an entry-level deal in April 2024 after playing for the University of Michigan. He made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets on April 16, 2024, against Carolina.

Brindley spent last season with Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, where he had six goals and 11 assists in 52 games.

He’s thrived in his role since the trade.

“Honestly, I really didn’t know what to think,” Brindley said when asked if he viewed being dealt to Colorado as a fresh start. “A lot of different emotions. I feel like positives and negatives, getting traded that young, and going through it. I feel like it’s good to go through it early and experience that and experience the downs of last year. Just learn from it and get better and grow.”

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NHL questioning untested ice ahead of Olympics

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NHL questioning untested ice ahead of Olympics

TORONTO — The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are less than 90 days away in Italy, and there is still work to be done on the ice surfaces that will showcase NHL players suiting up at their first Games in a decade.

The league hasn’t allowed its skaters to participate at the Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. Now that they are on the cusp of returning, there are serious questions about the quality of ice both men and women players will be working with in February.

“There’s still work ongoing on the rinks and the ice conditions,” confirmed NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at the NHL GM meetings on Tuesday. “It’s something that we’re monitoring closely, and we have absolutely no control over. This is all on the [International Olympic Committee] and the [International Ice Hockey Federation].”

Bettman said the league is getting “constant reassurances” from the IOC and IIHF that “everything will be fine” with the rinks by the time athletes arrive overseas. At this point, the main hockey rink — Santagiulia Arena — is still under construction. The venue was meant to undergo testing for Olympic events in December, with a U-20 world championship tournament. But that’s now been moved to another rink — the Rho Fiera — that will host secondary hockey matches during the Games.

Those building delays could mean that no games will actually be played at Santagiulia Arena until the women’s hockey schedule officially opens Feb. 5 with an untested ice surface. Beyond just being a safety issue for players, there’s also a question of testing things such as bathrooms and concessions for fans in a newly constructed space.

While the NHL can’t do much to expedite the construction process, they are staying actively involved in what’s going on. When the league’s current Global Series showcase in Sweden between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators wraps up this weekend, NHL executives will make a pilgrimage to Milano-Cortina to check the status of rink construction for themselves.

What they find there remains to be seen. All Bettman can reiterate is that it’s out of the NHL’s hands.

“We’re simply invited guests,” Bettman said.

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