This article provides a concise, sourced answer to the question of which Kansas City Chiefs linebacker died following a car accident, then walks through the contemporaneous timeline, the reported medical cause, the team's response, and how readers can verify the original reporting. The goal is clarity and access to primary sources rather than speculation. FundedPlays serves readers who care about accurate sports history and who value primary reporting when checking facts. The reporting summarized here draws on major outlet coverage and team retrospectives from the period around late January and early February 2000.

Derrick Thomas, age 33, died on February 8, 2000, after a late-January crash and hospitalization.

Major news outlets reported a pulmonary embolism related to blood clots as the cause of death.

The Chiefs and institutional sources continue to commemorate Thomas's career and legacy.

Quick answer: which Chiefs linebacker died in a car accident?

One-line factual answer

The Chiefs linebacker who died after a car accident was Derrick Thomas, who died on February 8, 2000, at age 33; his death followed a late-January 2000 crash and hospitalization, as reported in contemporary obituaries and news coverage, and those original reports provide the primary timeline and medical details The New York Times obituary.

That immediate, sourced answer clarifies the core facts and prepares readers for the fuller timeline and context below.

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Why this question comes up: nfl lines week 4 searches

People search for details about past player deaths for many reasons, including verifying historical context, correcting mistaken claims, or understanding how teams and communities responded when a high-profile player died; reliable archived coverage is the best way to confirm these events. See Funded Plays blog.

Why the story matters: impact on the team and community

Immediate team response and public mourning

Derrick Thomas was a leading defensive figure for the Kansas City Chiefs, and the team and its fans publicly mourned his death, with official team communications and commemorations documenting the immediate grief and ongoing remembrance Kansas City Chiefs retrospective.

Historic action photo of Derrick Thomas in Chiefs uniform mid sack with subtle vignette and stadium blur for nfl lines week 4 preview

The loss affected teammates, staff, and the broader Kansas City community; public statements from the organization and later team retrospectives reflect both the personal and cultural impact of his passing.

Longer term impact on Chiefs history

Beyond the immediate mourning, Thomas's career and tragic death have become part of the franchise's history, acknowledged in team memorials and historical profiles that contextualize his on-field accomplishments and his standing with fans and former colleagues Pro Football Hall of Fame profile.

That institutional remembrance helps explain why questions about the circumstances of his death continue to arise among researchers and fans.

Timeline: the crash, hospitalization, and death

What happened in late January 2000

Contemporary reporting documents that the serious automobile crash occurred in late January 2000, with one passenger dying at the scene and Thomas sustaining injuries that required hospitalization; initial reports from national outlets recorded those immediate outcomes and the location of subsequent medical care Los Angeles Times coverage and ESPN reported similar details.

The immediate aftermath included emergency response at the crash site and transfer to a medical facility, and those early accounts form the basis for the timeline that follows. UPI also covered the event.

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Hospitalization and medical developments over the next two weeks

Reporting from the period describes Thomas being hospitalized in Miami and that his condition worsened in the weeks following the crash, leading to his death about two weeks after the accident; those developments were tracked by national news outlets that published follow-up reports and obituaries CNN report.

Those contemporaneous articles document a sequence in which an initial crash report led to hospitalization, then to medical complications that resulted in his death.

Cause of death: what the reports say about pulmonary embolism

Reporting on medical cause

Major news outlets reported that Derrick Thomas died of a pulmonary embolism, commonly described in those articles as the result of blood clots that developed after the crash and while he was hospitalized, and that phrasing appears in primary obituaries from the period CNN report.

The available public reports attribute the fatal event to a pulmonary embolism related to blood clots, and those accounts are the basis for any summary of cause of death in public records and obituaries.

Limits of public medical information

Contemporary news coverage provides the public explanation that was reported at the time, but detailed medical records remain private and are not part of the public reporting, so summaries rely on what was released to the press and published by reputable outlets The New York Times obituary.

As with many high-profile medical events, public article accounts are the appropriate source for a factual narrative, while recognizing that clinical details beyond published reports are not available for public verification.

Aftermath: teammates, tributes, and the immediate reaction

Team statements and memorial events

The Chiefs organization issued public remembrances and later retrospectives that emphasize Thomas's leadership on defense and the ways the team and community honored him in the weeks and seasons after his death Kansas City Chiefs retrospective.

Media coverage at the time also documented memorial services and reactions from teammates and rivals, which fed national attention to both his career and the tragedy.

Media obituaries and national reaction

Major newspapers and broadcasters ran obituaries and analytical pieces that reflected on Thomas's career and the circumstances of his death, placing the event in national sports coverage and preserving the primary reporting that historians use to reconstruct the timeline The Washington Post coverage.

Those national accounts provided context on his achievements and carried the narrative from immediate incident reporting into longer form obituary writing.

Legacy: Thomas's place in Chiefs history and honors

Career achievements and recognition

Derrick Thomas is widely recognized for his playmaking ability and career achievements, including multiple Pro Bowl selections; archival and institutional records summarize these milestones and explain why he remains a notable figure in the franchise's history Pro Football Hall of Fame profile.

Those objective career records help explain why his death resonated beyond the team and why it is consistently included in retrospectives about franchise history.

How the franchise remembers him today

The Chiefs have maintained commemorations and have referenced Thomas in official team materials that look back at his contributions and the circumstances of his passing, providing an institutional memory that readers can consult for the team's perspective Kansas City Chiefs retrospective.

That institutional recognition reinforces how the franchise frames his legacy for new generations of fans.

How to verify the reporting yourself and reliable sources to consult

Which contemporary outlets covered the story

Key contemporary sources for original reporting include The New York Times, CNN, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post; searching those outlets' archives will surface the obituaries and follow-up reports that document the crash, hospitalization, and reported cause of death The New York Times obituary. See how Funded Plays evaluates sources.

Use exact date ranges and quoted search phrases when querying archives to limit results to the relevant timeframe around late January and early February 2000.

Check original news archives and the Chiefs team retrospective

Consult original archived articles from major news outlets and the team site for primary source details rather than relying on unsourced social posts or summaries.

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How to find archived articles and official team pages

Practical steps include searching major newspaper archives with the player's name and date range, checking major broadcasters' websites for their original coverage, and reviewing the Chiefs' official retrospectives and the Pro Football Hall of Fame profile for verified career context Pro Football Hall of Fame profile. For site overview, see Funded Plays.

Avoid relying on unsourced forum posts or social summaries when confirming dates, cause of death, or sequence of events.

Common confusions and final summary

Mistaken identities and false claims to avoid

Some confusion in online discussion can arise when readers conflate different player incidents or repeat unsourced claims about cause or timing; rely on primary news accounts and official team materials to prevent those mistakes CNN report.

Careful citation of archived obituaries and team retrospectives avoids common errors such as attributing the event to the wrong player or misstating the publicly reported medical cause.

Short, sourced summary for quick sharing

In short, the Chiefs linebacker who died following a car accident was Derrick Thomas, who died on February 8, 2000, after injuries and complications that followed a late-January 2000 crash and hospitalization; contemporary obituaries and news reports document that timeline and the reported medical cause The New York Times obituary.

For researchers and fans, the original news archives and official team retrospectives are the best sources to consult for confirmation and context.

Who was the Chiefs linebacker who died after the crash?

Derrick Thomas died on February 8, 2000, after complications following a late-January 2000 car crash and hospitalization.

What was reported as the cause of Derrick Thomas's death?

Contemporary news accounts reported that he died of a pulmonary embolism associated with blood clots following the crash.

Where can I find the original news coverage of the crash and death?

Consult archived articles from major outlets like The New York Times, CNN, Los Angeles Times, and the Kansas City Chiefs official site for primary reporting.

If you need to cite this material for research or reporting, point readers to the original archived obituaries and the Chiefs team retrospective and Hall of Fame profile rather than informal summaries. Those primary sources are the basis for the facts summarized above. For ongoing historical context about players and team history, institutional archives and reputable news organization archives remain the most reliable starting points.