Phoenix, Arizona Johnny High, a former player for the Phoenix Suns, was killed early on Saturday after his vehicle collided with a traffic signal post at a crossroads in east Phoenix.
According to police spokesperson Brad Thiss, High, 30, was declared dead at Maricopa Medical Center at 3:30 in the morning, 80 minutes after the collision.
High gave testimony earlier this year in front of a Maricopa County grand jury that indicted six other persons in addition to five current and former Suns players on counts of cocaine and narcotics offenses. For High, no charges were brought.
Thiss stated that High was traveling east on Jefferson Street in the right-turn-only lane when he and his 1979 sports car crossed 20th Street and collided with a light pole on the southeast corner.
Thiss stated, “He looked to have had serious chest injuries.” “No one saw the accident happen.” After hearing the crash, a neighbor went to investigate.
Thiss said that alcohol was discovered in the vehicle, but he added that testing to ascertain if High had consumed alcohol had not yet been finished.
After selecting High from Nevada-Reno in the second round of the 1979 NBA draft, Suns general manager Jerry Colangelo described High as “a man who appeared to reach the pinnacle for a short period of time,” but later revealed that he had struggled with personal issues.
Grand jury testimony transcripts from the cocaine investigation revealed that High had accused players from the NBA teams in Boston, Seattle, Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Phoenix—including guard Dennis Johnson of the Boston Celtics—of using cocaine.