Henry's fiancee won't be charged in Bengals receiver's death

[Archer]

Posted about 5 hours ago
Police: Henry's fiancee won't be charged in Bengals receiver's death

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police will not file charges against the fiancee of late Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry in connection with his death last month.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced Wednesday that there was no evidence that Loleini Tonga drove recklessly or with excessive speed last month when Henry came out of the back of her pickup truck on a curvy, residential road and suffered fatal injuries.

"The speed limit on Oakdale Road is 35 mph, and the estimated speed at the time of accident was between 19-23 mph," police said in a statement.

Police say Henry and Tonga were arguing at a home owned by Tonga's family in northwest Charlotte on the morning of Dec. 16 when Tonga attempted to drive away. A witness said he saw a shirtless Henry jump into the back of the truck.

A 911 caller said she saw Henry beating on the back window as she drove behind the truck. About a minute later, another 911 caller said he saw an unresponsive man laying in the road.

Henry died one day later of blunt-force trauma to the head. He was 26.

"Homicide detectives interviewed Ms. Tonga, who was cooperative throughout the duration of the investigation," police said. "Her statement was consistent with witness accounts. However, there were no witnesses that actually saw how Mr. Henry came out of the back of the truck."

Tonga told ESPN this week that Henry jumped out of the back but wasn't trying to harm himself. She said she believes Henry thought he would land safely and might have been scared because he saw someone calling the police.

Henry was away from the Bengals at the time of the incident after being placed on season-ending injured reserve with a broken forearm. Grief-stricken players and coaches attended Henry's funeral in Louisiana. Players have worn No. 15 stickers on their helmets since and will play the New York Jets in an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday in Cincinnati.

A talented player, Henry had struggled through a number of mistakes away from the field. He was suspended five times, and the Bengals at one point released him after the 2007 season as he dealt with an assault charge. But team owner Mike Brown decided to give Henry another chance and brought him back on a two-year deal before the 2008 season.

Henry and Tonga were raising three children. She said on her MySpace page days before the incident that they had just paid for their wedding rings.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8158d47d&template=with-video&confirm=true

Was reported a few hours ago . Not sure if it's been posted yet

[Point Blank]

[Sportsbuck]

This is some really crazy shit, she is actually the sister one of my former H.S. teammates. And apparently she was down in Cherry Grove with him when we all went down for Spring Break last year...

Didn't know her, didn't know I apparently partied with her, but I was pretty shocked.

[MrBill]

So basically, the police aren't saying she is innocent....just that they lack evidence to charge her. I still don't buy her story. If she was really going "20mph" and not swerving the truck, I would tend to think a world class athlete would be able to land on his feet and not hit head first when jumping from the back.

[Senser81]

So basically, the police aren't saying she is innocent....just that they lack evidence to charge her. I still don't buy her story. If she was really going "20mph" and not swerving the truck, I would tend to think a world class athlete would be able to land on his feet and not hit head first when jumping from the back.

I was looking for the white text in your posting. Disturbingly, I didn't find any.

Have you ever had a broken arm and then jumped out of a truck bed while the truck was moving?

[f16harm]

This is some really crazy shit, she is actually the sister one of my former H.S. teammates. And apparently she was down in Cherry Grove with him when we all went down for Spring Break last year...

Didn't know her, didn't know I apparently partied with her, but I was pretty shocked.

You feel more important now in this conversation?

[Senser81]

You feel more important now in this conversation?

Possibly, but he'll never be as important as the guy who "recognized so many faces" in the video of some nightclub burning down. Now THAT is 'importance 101'.

[MrBill]

I was looking for the white text in your posting. Disturbingly, I didn't find any.

Have you ever had a broken arm and then jumped out of a truck bed while the truck was moving?

Henry was a world class athlete and had superior coordination. Unless he was trying to land on his hand, I'm not sure what the cast had to do with anything. It certainly didn't stop him from jumping into a moving truck as his fiancee was leaving the house.

[killgod]

I'd imagine it'd be pretty easy for him to lose his balance and tumble over the side......where you are only going to land head first, especially with one functional arm.

If he jumped off that truck, he'd probably be perfectly fine but I highly doubt he jumped.

[Senser81]

Henry was a world class athlete and had superior coordination. Unless he was trying to land on his hand, I'm not sure what the cast had to do with anything. It certainly didn't stop him from jumping into a moving truck as his fiancee was leaving the house.

Seriously? You are still pursuing this argument?

I thought it was obvious that having a cast on a broken arm would affect your balance/coordination when jumping from a moving vehicle.

BTW, what place did Henry get in the Big East Track & Field Truck Jumping event?

[MrBill]

You guys act like 20MPH is some insane speed. If she was driving in a straight line and concerned for his safety like she says in this video, in my OPINION, he would not have hit head first when jumping out of the truck. He might have broken his leg or arm trying to break his fall.



Remember this woman's initial story was that he jumped into the truck as she was pulling away from the house (broken arm didn't affect him there) and was beating on the roof of the truck and she was in fear of her life. Now, she says that she was slowing as much as possible because he was going to jump because he saw somebody calling the police and he was scared....and she didn't stop to render aid after he jumped because there was no place to pull over in a residential area where the posted speed limit is only 35MPH. I call bullshit on that because I have had friends go down on their motorcycles in front of me and I stopped my bike in the middle of an open highway with a 65MPH speed limit to render aid.

You guys are free to think what you want but I think they were in a heated argument and she was driving like a maniac and when she saw him on the ground in the rearview mirror, she thought "that's what he gets for fucking with me" and kept on driving. If she was really concerned, she would have slammed on brakes right there and called 911 and not gave a shit that there was "no place to pull over". Again, she was only going "20MPH", it's not like she was doing 80MPH and didn't see his still body laying in the middle of the street in the rearview mirror as she drove off at "20MPH".

I think that Chris Henry's reputation and the fact that there were no witnesses worked against him and the DA didn't feel like pursuing it any further.

[Senser81]

You guys act like 20MPH is some insane speed. If she was driving in a straight line and concerned for his safety like she says in this video, in my OPINION, he would not have hit head first when jumping out of the truck. He might have broken his leg or arm trying to break his fall.

I'd say its difficult to break your fall with your arm when your arm is already broken and in a cast, no?

1) I honestly have a difficult time comprehending your CONSTANT stupidity.

2) You must have watched too many He-Man cartoons as a kid because He-Man could fall from the Sears Tower and simply break his fall by rolling on the ground. That doesn't really happen in real life.

[MrBill]

I'd say its difficult to break your fall with your arm when your arm is already broken and in a cast, no?

1) I honestly have a difficult time comprehending your CONSTANT stupidity.

2) You must have watched too many He-Man cartoons as a kid because He-Man could fall from the Sears Tower and simply break his fall by rolling on the ground. That doesn't really happen in real life.

It obviously wasn't that difficult for him to jump into a moving truck as she was pulling away from the house with his cast, or to beat on the cab of the truck as she was driving down the road.

He-Man would both probably jump off of the Sears Tower feet first and not head first. That is unless Skeletor hit the tower as he was jumping and caused him to go head first.

Can't you have a different opinion without insulting someone? You are just really in a foul mood these days. Did your trust fund lose value when the economy tanked? Was your wife #19 on Tiger's list? Take a valium dude. Just because people have differing opinions does not make them stupid anymore than it makes you smart.

[FirstTimer]

Force = Mass x Acceleration

=200(20)
=4000 N
=4000 N * .22481
F= 899.24

That means that Henry hit the ground at roughly 900 pounds of force (not accounting for added acceleration because he was falling), while only have one limb to brace himself.. Assuming he was able to actually fall onto his legs, who the hell besides Kerry Strug nails that landing? Surely not someone who is 6'4 and less able to maintain balance than a shorter individual...

Science>>>>>>>>>>.Mr Bill

[MrBill]

Force = Mass x Acceleration

=200(20)
=4000 N
=4000 N * .22481
F= 899.24

That means that Henry hit the ground at roughly 900 pounds of force (not accounting for added acceleration because he was falling), while only have one limb to brace himself.. Assuming he was able to actually fall onto his legs, who the hell besides Kerry Strug nails that landing? Surely not someone who is 6'4 and less able to maintain balance than a shorter individual...

He had both legs to land on and if his arm was good enough to bang on the cab of the truck, it was good enough to protect his head to break a fall. For the sake of argument, let's say that he did jump and miraculously went head first for some reason. Why didn't his fiancee stop and render aid as she saw his lifeless body laying in the street as she sped off at 20MPH. She would have been able to see him in the street in the rearview mirror for a LONG time at that speed.