College football player hit, killed while checking on people involved in crash

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A mom told Channel 9 she still prays for her son after he died in a crash on his way to North Carolina Central University.

The highway patrol said a driver hit 19-year-old Terrance Howard on July 22 along Interstate 85. He had gotten into a minor crash but was hit by a car when he got out to check on the other people involved.

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Howard was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

“He was breathing, responding to our hand movements,” said his stepfather Anthony Allen. “We talked to him. He would move his hand. He would squeeze our hand.”

When Channel 9′s Eli Brand spoke with Allen last week, he described the moments he and his wife arrived in Charlotte from their home in Texas. That was also when they saw Howard for the first time after the accident.

About a week and a half after he was hit, Howard died from his injuries.

Allen said Howard was a football player at the University of Alabama and recently transferred to North Carolina Central. He was making the drive from Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Durham, North Carolina when the crash happened.

NC Central released a statement on his passing, saying, “We are deeply saddened to announce the tragic loss of Terrance Howard, a first-year transfer student and valued member of the NCCU football team … during this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and teammates.”

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“He had love,” Allen said. “People flew in from Houston, all his people in the Ridge Point area, Galveston County area. He had people come out from other places as well to come and check on him.”

A GoFundMe asking for donations to move Howard to a new hospital raised nearly $50,000 before his death.

The driver who hit Howard stayed on scene and has not been charged.

In the aftermath of the crash, Howard’s family posted a video online that went viral. It showed them giving Howard CPR and claiming doctors at Atrium Health were unwilling to help save him.

Atrium sent Channel 9 a statement in response.

“Our medical professionals are among the best in the nation and take every reasonable measure to protect and preserve the life and health of those in our care at all times,” it reads. “We extend our deepest sympathies in every tragic situation facing patients and their family members as they struggle with their personal circumstances. We also make it our practice to provide honest assessments about each patient’s health when communicating with family members and help them understand and explore appropriate care options for their loved ones.”

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