John Elway’s agent and business partner Jeff Sperbeck died as a result of blunt head trauma after their horrific golf cart accident, a coroner has ruled.
Sperbeck, 62, tragically died last week after succumbing to the devastating injuries he sustained by falling off the back of a golf cart in La Quinta, California four days earlier.
To add to the tragedy, the legendary Denver Broncos quarterback had been the one driving the vehicle near The Madison Club.
Others present included Elway’s girlfriend, the Hall of Famer’s son and daughter-in-law, as well as Sperbeck and his wife, Cori, according to 9News.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office has told TMZ that the Coroner’s Bureau has also ruled Sperbeck’s death an accident.
Elway and the group had plans to attend the outdoor Stagecoach country music festival in nearby Indio on April 26, but that idea was scrapped due to unseasonably cold weather.
John Elway’s agent and business partner Jeff Sperbeck died as a result of blunt head trauma
His wife Cori (right) has also expressed the family’s deep sadness at the ‘unimaginable loss’
Instead, the three couples were included in a caravan of three-to-four golf carts carrying between 10 and 15 people on a quarter-mile trip from a private function at the Madison Club to Elway’s home on the resort.
Elway was driving the golf cart at the rear of the caravan with his girlfriend seated alongside.
Prior to departing, Sperbeck suggested to his wife that she should sit up front with Elway and his girlfriend, while offering to stand on the back of the cart alongside another passenger, Johnny Devenanzio.
No swerving or horseplay took place, sources told 9News, but somehow, Sperbeck fell backwards, instantly hitting his head on the ground. Devenanzio yelled for Elway to stop the cart, which Elway did, allowing Cori to rush over to her husband.
Sperbeck was still breathing, although the severity of his injury was instantly apparent. It was Elway who called 9-1-1 and Sperbeck was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Elway later released a statement saying he was ‘absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck.
‘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.’
‘My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him.
Sperbeck tragically died after succumbing to injuries he sustained by falling off a golf cart
‘Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.’
Elway, who played his whole career on the Denver Broncos, hired lawyer Harvey Steinberg last week, according to Fox.
Sperbeck didn’t represent Elway during the beginning of the signal caller’s NFL career when he was drafted in 1983, previously quipping that ‘John’s older than me, I was still in college.’
Instead, the sports agent came into Elway’s life in 1990, when Elway was already a star for the Denver Broncos. While Elway dominated on the field, winning two Super Bowls with the Broncos, Sperbeck helped the Hall of Famer establish his off-field empire.
