CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Investigators believe Charlotte Hornets guard Bobby Phills was drag-racing with teammate David Wesley at more than 75 mph when Phills lost control of his Porsche, skidded into oncoming traffic and was killed.
"It looks like they were drag-racing, which is legally defined as spontaneous speed competition," Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokesman Keith Bridges said Thursday. The speed limit where Phills wrecked is 45 mph.
Phills, 30, was leaving a team practice at the Charlotte Coliseum about 11 a.m. when he lost control of his car less than a mile from the arena. Police said his car collided head-on with a vehicle headed to the arena. Phills was killed instantly. A minivan rear-ended the other car, police said. The drivers of the other vehicles were hospitalized.
No charges have been filed against Wesley, who was driving a Porsche that wasn't involved in the accident.
The Hornets' starting point guard has refused to talk to police, Bridges said. He said any charges must await completion of the crash investigation, probably sometime next week.
Both Phills and Wesley have been charged with speeding in the past, according to The Charlotte Observer.
In February, Phills was charged with driving 60 mph in a 35-mph zone on Main Street in Pineville, N.C. Court records show he paid a $25 fine and $86 in court costs.
Wesley was twice charged with speeding, according to Mecklenburg County court records.
Stunned and tearful teammates and Hornets officials gathered at the accident scene. Minutes earlier, Phills and the other players had been practicing for Wednesday night's game with the Chicago Bulls. The game was postponed.
Capt. L.E. Blydenburgh, the police crash investigator, said Phills lost control of his Porsche on a hilly curve where the posted speed was 45 mph. "The skid marks indicate he was not going in a straight line," he said.
"This is the ultimate tragedy, and our immediate thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Kendall, children and family," Hornets owner George Shinn said in a statement. "Not only was Bobby a tremendous person, but a great husband, father and role model that everyone respected and admired. He was someone that you would want your children to be like."
Phills and his wife have two children — Bobby Ray III, 3, and Kerstie, 1.
"He touched all of our lives," said Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations. "It's shocking."
Phills joined the Hornets in 1997 after six years with Cleveland.