Former San Antonio Spur Rasual Butler and his wife were killed in a car crash early Wednesday morning.
According to Los Angeles police, at around 2:30 a.m., an SUV carrying two people was traveling down the 11200 block of Ventura Boulevard when it lost control, hit three parking meters and a retaining wall and landed in the parking lot of a strip mall.
The L.A. County coroner’s office confirmed to CBS Los Angeles that one of the victims was the 38-year-old Butler. TMZ reported that the other was his wife, Leah LaBelle.
Butler was 38 years old. The former NBA player entered the league in 2002 as a member of the Miami Heat. He played for the New Orleans Hornets from 2005-09.
He joined the Spurs at the start of the 2015 season. The team waived Butler the following March, after which Butler retired from the league.
Butler's wife, LaBelle, was a former contestant on "American Idol." She placed 12th during the show's 3rd season and continued her career as an R&B singer after appearing on the show.
