DevastatingNews: Former NC State & NCAA Player Killed In Bus Crash…

by: PatriceJohnson, Your Black World

R.I.P. Lorenzo Charles…

This past Monday, 47-year-old Lorenzo Charles died in a tour bus accident in Raleigh, NC. According to the associated press, Charles was driving an Elite Coach bus on Interstate 40 when the accident occurred. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Charles was responsible for one of the most stunning comeback wins in NCAA championship history.  In 1983, his team was a significant underdog to powerhouse Houston, and Charles hit the game-winning dunk after a teammate shot an air ball.

“It’s just an awful day,” said Derrick Whittenburg, the man who took the shot that Charles eventually dunked. “An awful, awful day.”

Charles didn’t do so well in the NBA.  He played a few years for the Atlanta Hawks, and like many former NCAA athletes, ended up doing menial work in order to make a living.  He’d become a bus driver for several companies in the North Carolina area.

“It’s still kind of amazing to me that … people are still talking about it,” Charles said to gopack.com. “I remember when [it] first happened, I figured I would have my 15 minutes of fame and that would be it. Here we are and it is still a conversational piece. I don’t really think that was the only great Final Four finish that has been played since then, but for some reason people just single out that game and talk about it. Maybe because it was such a David and Goliath thing.”

Charles played for North Carolina State during college, and briefly for the Atlanta Hawks before going overseas to play basketball in Europe.

The prayers of Your Black World go out to the family, friends, and loved ones of Lorenzo.

R.I.P.