According to a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman, a unit responded to the accident on southbound La Cienega Boulevard near Sawyer Street in the Culver City area, which occurred at about 6 a.m
According to the Los Angeles Times, detectives discounted early reports that the pair were involved in a street race, and were still trying to determine whether alcohol may have been involved, said LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon.
According to a police spokesman, the Grand Prix skidded nearly 50 feet, hit a curb, a tree, a newsstand, the fire hydrant, a light pole, another tree and the unoccupied transit bus.
The accident sent a plume of water into the air from the sheared fire hydrant, flooding the scene.
Paramedics worked for about 25 minutes using the Jaws of Life to free two men from the wreckage.
The car belonged to another former USC player, Larry Parker. Parker confirmed to police he had given permission to Bastianelli and Russell to use his car the night before the accident.
Russell was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Friends and former teammates of the 6-foot-5, 325-pound Russell were stunned and saddened by the news.
Former Raiders offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, who grew up blocks away from Russell in San Diego and bonded with the likable, childlike player who gravitated toward thugs and trouble, was in tears as he recalled a tormented friend he could never really reach.
Darrell was a good guy, he really was. This is so tough for me,” said Kennedy, who played five seasons with Russell, who police say resided in Santa Monica. “You have regrets in life and things you wish you had done. I wish I could have helped him more.
“He and I were close — we grew up near each other, we had a similar background. But I had to leave him alone, because he couldn’t (leave) his friends in San Diego alone. I tried to help him but I couldn’t let him drag me and what I was trying to accomplish down to where he was headed.
“He was a big kid like me that had a big heart,” said Kennedy, who retired from the NFL after the 2004 season and now works as an analyst for the NFL Network. “He couldn’t say no to anybody. … He couldn’t let his friends go, from San Diego. He couldn’t let his past go. He always wanted to try to take care and do for other people. It ended up bringing him down.”
Wide receiver Jerry Porter was a rookie in 2000 and remembered Russell as a great teammate who was fun to be around.
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