Ben Simmons’ cousin killed in hit-and-run hours after draft
By Brad Weiss
On Thursday, Ben Simmons heard his name called first in the NBA Draft. On Saturday, he heard his cousin had been killed.
Ben Simmons experienced the highest of highs on Thursday night, as he was selected as the first overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. Those highs turned to lows on Saturday morning, as tragedy struck his family.
Zachary Simmons, the first cousin of Ben, was killed in a fatal hit-and-run in Hoboken, New Jersey, just days after attending the draft in New York City. Simmons was celebrating a friend’s birthday on Friday night, and was killed early Saturday morning.
Simmons, 21, was struck by a black SUV at around 3:30 a.m. ET, according to CBS New York. Simmons was crossing Willow Ave. at Sixth St. when he was hit, and the impact sent his body into the rear of a parked car. The SUV sped away from the scene.
His mother, Monique Steele, told CBS New York the vehicle that hit her son was going at least 70 miles per hour.
“To be speeding enough to kill my child is beyond me,” Steele told CBS2.
Ben Simmons took to twitter to say goodbye to his cousin and friend, posting a picture of the two from draft night just one night before the tragedy.
https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/746881085431226369
Ben Simmons was born in Melbourne, Australia but his father, David, is from the Bronx, N.Y., and attended South Bronx High School, so he is from the area.
Hopefully Simmons and his family can find some peace in this tragedy, and the authorities can find whoever did this.
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