Former NFL kicker Bironas dies in Nashville car wreck

By Kevin Murphy (Reuters) - Former Tennessee Titans’ kicker Rob Bironas died late Saturday in a single-vehicle car crash in Nashville, police said on Sunday. Bironas, 36, lost control of the SUV he was driving at a high rate of speed around a curve in the road, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement. The vehicle veered off the right side of the road, struck a line of trees and stopped upside down in a large culvert, police said. Bironas was taken by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The accident happened just after 11 p.m. CT (0400 GMT) less than a mile from Bironas’ home, where police believe he was headed. No evidence of drugs or alcohol was found, police said. Bironas played nine years for the Titans in the National Football League before he was released early this year. Bironas converted 85.7 percent of his field goal attempts in his career. Bironas holds the NFL record for number of field goals kicked in one game, with eight in a 2007 game against the Houston Texans. In June, Bironas married Rachel Bradshaw, the daughter of former Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Terry Bradshaw, according to NFL.com. "We are deeply saddened to hear the tragic news from last night about Rob Bironas," the Titans said in a statement. "Rob made a significant impact as a player in his nine years with the team and more importantly touched many lives in the Nashville community off the field." (Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Scott Malone and Mark Potter)