Rob Bironas’ Blood Alcohol Was .218 At The Time Of His Death

According to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas, who died in a car accident in September, had a blood alcohol level of .218 when he died.

The news doesn’t come as that much of a surprise, given reports that surfaced about Bironas’ behavior on the road in the minutes before he drove his SUV off the road. Witnesses painted a troubling picture of his final moments with their accounts. Also per The Tennessean:

Connor Fraley, a 20-year-old student, said he was a passenger in a pickup truck that Bironas tried to hit on Franklin Road during a high-speed chase, after Bironas made threatening comments at an intersection minutes earlier.

“His window was down, and we pulled up and I said, “Hey man, just a heads up, something’s burning from your exhaust. Your exhaust smells horrible, just wanted to let you know,” Fraley recalled telling Bironas. “He looked over at me and said “I’m going to kill everybody in your (expletive) vehicle. It was so random, so bizarre I was like, “What?” And he said the exact same thing again.”

Fraley said the Ford F-150 he was a passenger in turned left on Franklin Road, and Bironas followed them. Another Belmont student was driving the truck, Fraley was in the front seat and two female students were in the back seat. Fraley said they sped up to get away, but Bironas sped after them.

At one point, near the Thompson Lane overpass, “he tried to sideswipe the vehicle and missed us by a foot.”

“The girls in the back seat were starting to freak out because he was swerving on the road in between lanes, all over the place.” Fraley said. “We had no idea who he was and why he was trying to harm us. It was a fight or flight situation and, unfortunately, we had to take flight at about 110 miles per hour. It was very scary.” 

In addition to a blood alcohol content that was almost three times the legal limit, Bironas was also found to have a low level of Diazepam (Valium) in his system. Although it was low enough that the medical examiner said it was unlikely a factor at the time of his death.

The news itself is unfortunate for Bironas’ grieving family, but it’s also not ideal for the Titans, who plan to honor him on Sunday. Bironas is the second leading scorer in franchise history—there will be a moment of silence in his honor prior to the game and players will wear a sticker on their helmets.

Given the slew of bad publicity the NFL has received in recent weeks, it’ll be interesting to see if that impacts anything already planned for Sunday.