LA QUINTA, Calif. — NFL Hall of Famer John Elway won’t be charged after his business partner Jeffrey Sperbeck was fatally injured falling out of his golf cart at a Southern California golf resort community last April, authorities said.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told KUSA-TV in Denver on Friday that investigators found nothing criminal and ruled it a tragic accident.
Sperbeck, Elway’s partner and former agent, died after suffering an injury when he tumbled out of a golf cart driven by the former quarterback on April 26 at The Madison Club in La Quinta, east of Los Angeles. Sperbeck was 62.
Sperbeck’s cause of death was “blunt force trauma” and the manner of death was an accident that occurred when the “passenger fell from the golf cart,” the county coroner’s report said.
“I’ve looked at video 100 times and there’s no explanation as to why he fell off, he just fell off,’’ Bianco said.
Elway didn’t immediately comment on the findings. He said in an April statement that he was devastated by the death of his close friend.
“There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me,” Elway said at the time.
Elway’s April statement did not address his presence at the scene.
Sperbeck began managing Elway in 1990, when Elway was quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He represented more than 100 NFL players during a three-decade career as an agent and business adviser.
He was best known as Elway’s partner who helped manage the Hall of Famer’s extensive off-field business empire, which included restaurants, car dealerships and a winery.