Former Auburn Tigers TE Philip Lutzenkirchen, driver legally drunk in fatal crash
By Phil Watson
According to a report, former Auburn Tigers tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen, as well as the driver of the car in which he was riding, were legally drunk at the time of the June 29 crash that killed both men.
Al.com reported Wednesday that according to the results of a toxicology report released Wednesday, Joseph Ian Davis, the driver, had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 at the time of the crash outside of LaGrange, Ga., in the early morning hours of June 29.
Lutzenkirchen, who was ejected from the vehicle, had been riding in the back seat and had a BAC of 0.377.
The legal limit for driving under the influence in Georgia is 0.08.
Police suspected alcohol use as a factor in the crash that claimed the lives of Davis, 22, and Lutzenkirchen, 23.
Elizabeth Ann Seton Craig, 22, and Christian Tanner Case, 20, were injured when a 2006 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Davis failed to stop at a stop sign at a T-interception and went into a ditch at an unknown speed before rolling an additional 89 feet and hitting another ditch.
The vehicle then traveled along the edge of a church driveway before hitting a fence, flying 42 feet and overturning several times.
Lutzenkirchen, a tight end at Auburn, made 15 receptions for 185 yards and five touchdowns for the Tigers’ 2010 team that won the BCS national championship.
In four years at Auburn, Lutzenkirchen had 59 receptions for 628 yards and 14 scores. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the St. Louis Rams shortly after the 2013 NFL Draft.
He was among the final cuts made by the Rams last August after catching two passes for 18 yards in the three preseason games in which he played.
A lingering hip injury prompted Lutzenkirchen to walk away from football last fall and he was working as an assistant financial adviser in Montgomery, Ala., at the time of his death.