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Former NFL cornerback and University of Houston standout D.J. Hayden has died at the age of 33, according to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.
Hayden, who was selected by the then-Oakland Raiders in the first-round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played for three teams in eight seasons, was among six people killed in a crash involving a car that drove through a red light in Houston at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday (November 11), according to the Houston Police Department.
Four of the six casualties, including fellow former Houston football player Zach McMillan, were pronounced dead at the scene. Hayden, one of college football's best cornerbacks during his final season at Houston, made national headlines after suffering a near-fatal hit to the main vein leading to his heart during an accident that took place during a practice late into 2012.
Hayden was discharged from the hospital a week later, but ruled out for the Cougars' final three games, having still been named as a First-team All-Conference-USA selection. The Houston native was selected by the Raiders at No. 12 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft and spent his first four seasons with the franchise before one season with the Detroit Lions and three with the Jacksonville Jaguars.