Former LSU women’s basketball star Danielle Ballard was killed after being struck by a car Thursday morning in Tennessee. She was only 29 years old. The Memphis Police Department said the crash occurred before 1:30 a.m. at Coleman Road and Raleigh-Lagrange Road, a few miles away from FedExForum.
She was taken to Regional One Health, where she was pronounced dead. “The driver stayed on the scene,” the MPD added in a statement. “This is an ongoing investigation.” Equally important, no charges have been pressed.
Latieshica Douglas says she and a friend had just left Blue Ice, a lounge located at 2818 Coleman Rd, when they noticed Ballard walking in the middle of the road while in pain.
LSU mourns the loss of Danielle Ballard
📄 https://t.co/eKr2D3ZqVk pic.twitter.com/DpvvfL5sa7
— LSU Women’s Basketball (@LSUwbkb) July 13, 2023
“So we holler out the window like ‘Baby, you got to get out the street. You’re in the street,’ and she just kept hollering ‘I can’t see, I can’t see,’” Douglas told WREG-TV. Douglas said Ballard told them she had been pepper sprayed by security at the lounge.
“By the time we reached for the door handles, the car was coming at like 70 mph and ran her over like she was a speed bump,” Douglas added.
Ex-LSU women’s basketball star Danielle Ballard was killed after being struck by a car in the middle of the road Thursday morning in Memphis
On Friday, LSU issued the following statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Danielle. She meant a great deal to our program and was such a big part of our women’s basketball family. It’s difficult to understand why this happened to someone who was so full of life and had so much promise. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends.”
Ballard played three NCAA seasons (2012-15) with the Tigers. She made 67 starts in 81 appearances. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 29.6 minutes per game while shooting 40.7% from the floor and 70.2% at the foul line.
Furthermore, she led LSU to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament during her sophomore season in 2014, averaging 23.3 points and 12.3 rebounds in three tournament games.
Moreover, in her junior 2014-15 season, Ballard averaged career highs of 14.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals, and 31.6 minutes per game. Along with logging a career-high-tying 2.9 assists, she shot 40.4% from the field and 72.9% at the free throw line.
Additionally, Ballard was then selected to the second-team All-SEC and All-SEC Defensive Team. She also earned recognition as the LSWA Louisiana Freshman of the Year.
Ballard, a native of Memphis, ranked No. 25 overall by ESPN prior to joining LSU after leading her Central High School team to its first class 3A state title in 89 years.
