Rob Carr/Getty Images Stephon Tuitt of the Pittsburgh Steelers recovers a fumble against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Wild Card game on January 8, 2017.
The brother of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt was killed on Wednesday in a hit-and-run accident in the Atlanta suburb of Johns Creek, this according to local police and CBS46-TV in Atlanta.
Tuitt’s 23-year-old brother, Richard Bartlett III, was struck on a busy stretch of McGinnis Ferry Road on Wednesday night, per CBS46, which reports that both Bartlett’s mother and girlfriend were witnesses.
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Police Are Looking for Tips/Information
Captain Todd Hood with the Johns Creek Police Department related what the police believe happened: “The victim was following a girlfriend in a vehicle. She had a mattress strapped to the top of her car. From what we understand they may have stopped to secure it. She had pulled over to the right-hand side of the roadway. The victim had pulled into the left-hand turn lane right there at the boat entrance to the Chattahoochee River.”
It was at that point that Bartlett was struck by an oncoming car, resulting in fatal injuries.
“We do know that the vehicle turned around in the intersection right there possibly to see what had happened or what they had hit and at that point they fled the scene,” Hood added. “The mom and girlfriend on scene at that point said they believe the vehicle was a dark, possibly black in color, four door sedan. One of the witnesses believes it was most likely a BMW.”
“We’re doing everything we can to help the family in this situation,” Hood added. “It’s very tragic for them, very tragic for the mom and the girlfriend who witnessed this incident…. We’re asking the public to step forward and give us any information about the vehicle, the driver or the owner of the vehicle so we can hold these people accountable.”
About Stephon Tuitt
Tuitt, 28, was selected by the Steelers in the second-round of the 2014 NFL Draft (No. 46 overall) out of Notre Dame and has been with the team ever since. To date he has played in 91 games (79 starts), having recorded 246 total tackles, 176 solo, with 34.5 sacks and 94 quarterback hits, plus one interception, six forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He is widely regarded as one of the best players at his position, with one set of analysts recently naming him one of the Top 12 defensive linemen in the NFL.
CBS46 reports that the victim’s mother, Tamara Tuitt-Bartlett, is a deputy with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office. Gwinnett County borders Fulton County, where the incident occurred. Johns Creek is a suburb of Atlanta, located approximately 28 miles northeast of the city.
Tuitt has another half-brother, Jared Bartlett, who is a redshirt sophomore linebacker for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Earlier in the offseason, he mourned the loss of Louis Nix III, who played on the defensive line with Tuitt at Notre Dame and went on to become a third-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2014.
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Brother of Steelers’ Stephon Tuitt Killed in ‘Tragic’ Accident: Police