The days following being the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft are supposed to be filled with celebration and joy. Instead, for Ben Simmons those moments were cut short as a close cousin of his was killed in a hit-and-run incident early Saturday morning.
According to reports, Zachary Simmons, a first cousin of Ben, was killed after a car struck him around 3:30 a.m. in Hoboken, New Jersey following a celebration for a friend’s birthday. He apparently was struck by a black SUV and was hit so hard that witnesses report hearing two loud thuds in the incident.
The report also indicates that police believe the SUV was traveling at around 70 mph when the incident occurred.
Zachary had just been in attendance on Thursday night with his cousin Ben as he was picked No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Ben tweeted out his thoughts on the passing of someone so close to him.
https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/746879898170580992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/746880149057052672
https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/746881085431226369
Sadly, the person responsible for hitting and killing Zachary Simmons hasn’t been apprehend at this time and police are analyzing pieces of the SUV in question and asking for the public’s help in identifying the vehicle and person responsible.
[CBS New York/Photo: @BenSimmons25]