On Sept. 12, multiple sites announced that former standout NFL wide receiver Mike Williams died from injuries sustained during a construction accident in Florida.
Reportedly, a steel beam fell on Williams’ head when working in Hillsborough County, Florida, on Aug. 21.
However, on Tuesday, Sept. 26, Tampa police announced they have launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the mother and grandmother of Williams’ eight-year-old daughter told police that Williams was given the opioid pain killer Percocet when recovering at the hospital.
Family members believe the Percocet was given to Williams by friends without a prescription and that the opioid contributed to his going into cardiac arrest.
Further, family members note that Williams suffered an in-hospital heart attack the day he was given the opioid.
The New York Post reported: “Three of Williams’ other friends told the outlet that hospital visitors gave him drugs.”
“People are walking around free, and Mike is dead,” Williams’ friend David “Phūj” Thornton said. “It is sad if people (who visited Williams) at his bedside didn’t have his best interests.”
Williams’ friend Tyshawn Edwards told the Tampa Bay Times that Williams requested his friends bring him Percocet, which he planned to take in addition to the medications he was receiving at the hospital.
Edwards stated he denied William’s request but that others complied.
Tampa Bay police told the New York Post: “The nature of the crime is under review.”
A spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office stated the cause of death is “pending further study” and that there is “an open active criminal investigation.”
Previous reports of Williams’ death noted he died due to injuries sustained in a construction accident and had not mentioned the possibility of drugs as a contributing factor.
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