ORCHARD PARK, NY – CIRCA 2010: In this handout photo provided by the NFL, Kyle Calloway of the Buffalo Bills poses for his 2010 NFL headshot circa 2010 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by NFL via Getty Images)
Kyle Calloway, a former offensive lineman for Iowa, was killed by a train while jogging near railroad tracks in Arizona, the Cedar Rapids Gazette said.
Former Hawkeye Kyle Calloway was killed by a train on Saturday. t.co/exnpJYeDsp
Calloway was only 29-years-old. The Tucson Police Department reported that he died after being “struck from behind by a westbound train,” the Cedar Rapids Gazette said.
According to Big Ten Network, Calloway helped lead Iowa to victory in the 2010 Orange Bowl. He started 37 games and was a second-team all-Big Ten in 2008 and 2009, Big Ten Network said.
He also played in the NFL briefly, being drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, Big Ten Network said.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Calloway’s Father Said Kyle Calloway Was On the Tracks Trying to Get Out of the Mud
Former Iowa offensive lineman Kyle Calloway was struck by a train and killed over the weekend in Arizona
Ed Calloway told Big Ten Network that Kyle Calloway jogged for exercise. He was on the train tracks because of the muddy conditions, Ed Calloway told the sports site. The site quoted him as saying:
That was what he did for exercise. He liked to run and it had rained the day before and the area where he ran was muddy, and so he was going back and forth across the tracks to get out of the mud.
Ed Calloway elaborated to the Gazette, saying the family thinks that Kyle Calloway was confused because he expected the train to be going in a different direction.
The longer version is at our old house, the train on the right side of the tracks went east, and the train on the left tracks went west. Our presumption is this train was on the opposite side that he was used to so he got on to the side so the train would have been coming at him from the front. We think that he got confused because the train somehow had been slopped over and was going in a different direction that he was used to. We don’t know, we’re just assuming that’s what happened.
Tucson Police confirmed that Calloway was jogging when killed. In a statement posted on the police Facebook page, Tucson PD said that officers responded to a report of a pedestrian struck by a train on July 2. They later identified the man as Calloway; he was pronounced dead at the scene, the police said. The statement continued:
Traffic investigators from the Tucson Police Department responded to continue the investigation. They were able to determine that the pedestrian was jogging westbound on and off the tracks when he was struck from behind by a westbound train.
Kyle Calloway (Iowa Hawkeyes official photo).
2. The Family is Donating Calloway’s Brain to the Study of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
NEW BHGP! KYLE CALLOWAY, 1987-2016 t.co/TlZI6ymlLs
According to the Gazette, funeral arrangements are delayed because of the donation of Calloway’s brain to study Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is a progressive degenerative brain disease found in those with repetitive brain trauma, such as concussions.
The newspaper said Calloway moved to Arizona after he was released from the Bills, but he still kept up with the Hawkeyes. He put Iowa football decals on his truck, an Iowa “Alum” on the back window, and kept track of how the Iowa team was doing, his father said, according to the Gazette. Ed Calloway said his son “loved” Iowa.
3. Kyle Calloway Was a History Mayor in College & Was From a Military Family
Former Hawkeye Kyle Calloway was killed by a train on Saturday. t.co/exnpJYeDsp
According to the Iowa Hawkeyes’ official site, Calloway majored in history in college and was the son of Ed and Nancy Calloway. As a military dependent, he attended three high schools in four years, the Hawkeyes site says. He last went to high school in Belleville, Illinois, and was 6 foot 7 inches tall and 315 pounds.
In a 2010 interview with the Bleacher Report, he described his upbringing,
I kind of fit Metallica’s “Wherever I may wander” song in that wherever I lay my head is home. I don’t fill particularly attached to any of the places that I have lived. When people outside of Iowa ask me where I’m from I say Iowa and when people in Iowa ask me where I’m from I say Arizona, which is where my parents currently live.
Arizona is also where he ended up dying.
In the Bleacher Report interview, Calloway said he went to the theater for fun in Iowa City. He said he liked the small-town feel and friendliness of Iowans.
4. Kyle Calloway Was Also a High School Athletic Standout in Multiple Sports
Calloway was also a high-school athletic standout, being named a Pre Season ESPN Top Ten player in the St. Louis area and being invited to the 2004 Nike Camp. He played tight end and defensive tackle. In high school, he was also a three-time letter winner in basketball, and a four-time letter winner in track.
According to 247 sports, as an Iowa Hawkeye, Calloway, a tackle, received All-Big Ten honorable mention status as a junior before he was drafted by the Buffalo Bills. According to the Buffalo Bills’ career page for Calloway, he was drafted in the seventh round (216 overall), and was the ninth Bills draft pick from Iowa, as well as the fourth offensive lineman. However, his NFL dreams did not materialize, as he was released by the Bills in August 2010, said WHOTV.
Sad to hear about Kyle Calloway’s death.
He (No. 60) made a lot of big blocks in Iowa City, including this one. t.co/9M8zD8TC7W
5. Fans and Former Teammates Expressed Their Shock on Social Media About Calloway’s Death
Deeply saddened to hear that my teammate Kyle Calloway has passed. Please send your prayers and love to his family and friends.
As word spread of the bizarre death, the tributes started to pour in from those who followed Calloway’s career.