Former NFL running back Alex Collins dies at 28 in motorcycle crash

LOS ANGELES (KTTV) - Former NFL running back Alex Collins was killed in a motorcycle crash over the weekend.

Collins' former team, the Baltimore Ravens was among the first to break the news of his death Monday evening on social media. Officials in Broward County, Florida issued a release saying Collins was killed in a motorcycle crash in Lauderdale Lakes Sunday night.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office responded to a call in the 3300 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard a little after 10:15 p.m. Sunday. Early rounds of investigations revealed Collings was riding a 2004 Suzuki GSX-R600K motorcycle when he got into a crash with a Chevrolet Suburban SUV.

Broward County Sheriff's Office wrote in a press release that the Chevrolet was making a left turn, trying to cross the eastbound lanes, when the motorcycle that Collins was riding hit the rear passenger side of the SUV. The crash killed Collins at the scene, Broward County Sheriff's Office wrote. 

Collins, who played the Arkansas Razorbacks in college, played five seasons in the NFL. He spent three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, the team that drafted him in the 5th round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and the other two seasons with the Ravens.

The Seahawks also issued a statement in response to Collins' death:

Collins' teammate Geno Smith, who played together for the Seahawks in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, shared his reaction to social media Monday evening:

"Life so crazy man," Smith wrote on social media. "Fly high my boy until we meet again"

"AK all the way," Smith added.

Over the course of his NFL career, Collings made headlines for his Irish jig touchdown celebration dance. In an interview with CBS Evening News, he learned the Irish dance from the daughter of his high school football coach.

Collins admitted in past interviews that he was teased for the dance, but credited the Irish jig to helping his game on the field. The former NFL running back said it helped with his footwork.

In 2017, Collins sent words of encouragement to a 12-year-old boy who was bullied for studying the Irish dance.

"Never stop doing the things you love because someone else [doesn't] agree," Collins wrote, in part, on social media.

Carl Tubbs, the young boy who was greeted on the field by Collins, told CBS News the friendship inspired him to continue pursuing the dance.