Rueben Bain Jr. was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the No 15 pick in the NFL Draft – despite recently being named as the driver in a fatal 2024 car crash.
The highly-rated defensive end avoided a humiliating slide after being taken in the first round by the Bucs, who were seemingly unfazed by the deadly collision he was involved in two years ago.
At the end of his freshman season in Miami, Bain crashed into another vehicle and then hit concrete barriers on both sides of the road while driving on Interstate 95 in the early hours of the morning.
Two of his teammates were with him in the car at the time, and a third passenger – 22-year-old Georgia woman Destiny Betts – tragically died after spending three months in a coma.
As revealed by The Read Optional just weeks before the Draft, Bain was driving a Land Rover SUV with Betts and fellow Hurricanes stars Wesley Bissainthe and Nyjalik Kelly when the crash occurred.
According to an official report reviewed by The Daily Mail, the crash occurred on I-95 in Miami when his vehicle rear-ended another car around 4am. The impact caused Bain’s vehicle to ricochet from one concrete barrier into another before coming to a rest on the shoulder of the highway.
Rueben Bain Jr. was selected by the Buccaneers with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft
The highly-rated defensive end avoided a humiliating slide despite recently being named as the driver in a fatal 2024 car crash
Betts was taken to a nearby trauma center where she fell into a coma before dying from her injuries three months later, according to a GoFundMe page from 2024.
That page was taken down following the release of The Read Optional report. Betts’ family has since requested privacy, while wishing Bain ‘the best as he continues his life and career.’
The football star was cited following the accident, but charges were dropped prior to Betts’ death in June of 2024. He was never given a field sobriety test, according to the crash report.
There was a 2024 lawsuit associated with the crash between an insurance company and Bain that is now closed, according to Miami-Dade County records obtained by the Daily Mail.
Despite being a projected first-round pick, the recent revelation that Bain was involved in a fatal collision led many to speculate over a potential slide in the Draft.
Certain reports suggested NFL teams were aware of the incident ahead of time, with CBS insider Jonathan Jones claiming they were ‘satisfied with Bain’s explanation’ for why the crash occurred.
The Bucs may well have been one of those teams, as they used their first pick in the Draft to bring the ex-Hurricanes linebacker to Tampa on Thursday night.
The arrival of Bain, who helped Miami to an appearance in the College Football Playoff national championship game in January, addresses a need to bolster a leaky Bucs defense that wasn’t as reliable as usual last season.
Bain was still taken No 15 by Tampa Bay following his successful college career in Miami
The Bucs went 8-9 last season, losing seven of nine games following a 6-2 start to end a string of five consecutive playoff appearances that included a Tom Brady-led Super Bowl run during the 2020 season. The lack of a consistent pass rush was one of the biggest problems on defense.
Inside linebacker, tight end and cornerback are other priorities general manager Jason Licht and coach Todd Bowles could address during the three-day draft. Barring trades, Tampa Bay has three of the top 77 selections overall and at least one pick in each of the final six rounds.
The team began an overhaul of the defense this winter after losing linebacker Lavonte David to retirement and not bringing back cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Haason Reddick, who became free agents.
Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad signed a one-year deal with the Bucs in March after having a career-best 11 sacks with the Detroit Lions last season, and the Bucs also landed linebackers Alex Anzalone and Christian Rozeboom in free agency.
