In the end, people will be left to draw their own conclusions about why Broncos running back Damien Nash died suddenly at 24.
Two-and-a-half months after Nash collapsed and died following a charity basketball game he hosted Feb. 24, the autopsy report said the cause of death could not be determined.
“We did not find anything that we could attribute the cause of death to, although I believe it to be of cardiac origin,” said Dr. Mary Case, chief medical examiner of St. Louis (Mo.) County. “The death was of natural origin, not an unnatural death.”
Dr. Case said no drugs or unnatural substances were found in Nash’s system and that in “only 3 to 4 percent of cases” are autopsies unable to officially determine the cause of death.
A second-year NFL player from the University of Missouri, Nash played in three games for the Broncos last season. His career highlight was rushing for 52 yards on 10 carries, with a long run of 26 yards, in a 35-27 loss to San Diego on Nov. 19.
After the season, Nash organized a charity basketball game in his hometown of St. Louis in honor of his older brother Darrius Nash, who underwent a heart transplant on Jan. 1, 2006. After the event that raised $1,200 for heart transplant patients, Nash took a limousine ride home along with his wife, Judy White-Nash, and their daughter Phaith.
Soon after arriving home, Nash collapsed. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
“My impression of Damien was how young he is to be such a family guy,” Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall said after Nash’s funeral. Marshall was the lone Broncos player to participate in Nash’s charity basketball game and one of 26 players who attended his service in St. Louis.
“He was a newlywed, and he had a newborn. And for him to be so young, and to be so into his family, his wife and daughter, it was really amazing to me. If I ever become a husband or a father, I’d like to be the way he did it.”
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
