LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. – A vigil was held in Lauderdale Lakes Wednesday night for 28-year-old Alex Collins, a former NFL running back who was killed in a motorcycle accident over the weekend.
Family and friends gathered at the corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and Northwest 33rd Street where the crash happened to light candles and share memories of the South Florida native.
Collins was a star at South Plantation High School and best known for being one of the top running backs in the country. He also played basketball and lacrosse for the Paladins before playing college football. Collins then went to the NFL to play for the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens.
But Steven McBride, who said he was Collins’ first coach for an optimist football league, said the standout athlete was a renaissance man who loved horses, art and music.
“One day he told me out of the blue he could play the piano, and I said, ‘no way.’ And I challenged him,” McBride said. “And he went into the room and just played them naturally like he’s been playing his whole life.”