Ex-NFL Star John Elway was reportedly behind the wheel during the golf cart accident that left his long-time agent and business partner, Jeff Sperbeck, on life support Saturday, said TMZ.
The former Denver Broncos quarterback, 64, and Sperbeck, 61, attended the Stagecoach music festival in Indio, California with their wives Saturday, and were on their way back from a post-party in the Madison Club in La Quinta when the accident occurred.
Sperbeck suddenly fell out the back of the moving vehicle and hit his head on the asphalt, sustaining a traumatic head injury.
Witnesses told TMZ that the Hall of Fame quarterback was the first on the phone with the police after the accident.
When paramedics showed up on the scene, Sperbeck was still breathing but unconscious.
Eyewitness Ali Simon told KESQ-TV Wednesday that she saw Sperbeck “lying on the ground, and there were people surrounding him just trying to make sure he was okay.”
“It was so sad, and our hearts just go out to the families,” she added.
Sperbeck was brought to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
According to TMZ, doctors have said that there is no hope that Sperbeck will recover.
He is now being kept on life support as they prepare to harvest his organs for donation.
The Palm Springs based TV station, KESQ-TV, said that the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the incident Monday.
TMZ cannot confirm if Elway was actually behind the wheel, but a witness told KESQ-TV, that they also saw Elway at the scene of the accident.
Sperbeck began working with the ex-Broncos’ player in the ’90s, the pair going on to win two consecutive Super Bowls in ’98 and ’99.
Elway and Sperbeck remained close friends after the Super Bowl MVP’s retirement in ‘99, going on to open a winery called 7Cellars together, referencing Elway’s old jersey number.
In 2011, the star quarterback had a 10-year stint as the Broncos’ general manager and executive vice president of football operations, guiding his team to another Super Bowl win in 2016.
After becoming president of football operations in 2021, he wrapped up his time with the Broncos as a team consultant in 2022 for just one season.