Tragedy Strikes USC Football

[Cowboys 4 life]

Very sad. Just saw him in the Rose Bowl a week ago.

San Pedro has some nasty cliffs. I know right where that is. I'm curious whether he slipped or was murdered.

Yeah...or was it suicide?

The place they are talking about can be murder, suicide or accident. Nice 150 ft drop. There are 2 places in Pedro to commit suicide. Not that I've thought about it just used to live close. The San Pedro bridge and the cliffs.

There have been numerous accidents close to where they found him. People get drunk and mis step along with the occasional suicide.

[knapplc]

That really is too bad. What a sad way to go. And so young.

[stomperrob]

Danelo autopsy completed; toxicological results pending
Jan. 8, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- An autopsy was performed on Southern California kicker Mario Danelo on Monday, and the coroner's office said it could be six to eight weeks before the cause of death is determined.

The medical examiner is awaiting toxicology results that would detect the presence of any alcohol or drugs the system of the 21-year-old player, the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo.

Foul play has been ruled out. Danelo's body was found Saturday about 120 feet down a rocky cliff in San Pedro, not far from the family home, police said.

"There's no crime," Los Angeles Police Dept. officer Mike Lopez said Sunday. "It was either an accident or a suicide."

Danelo made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points. He made two field goals in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day to help USC beat Michigan 32-18.

The junior, missed only two field goals in his two-year career at USC, going 26-for-28, and he was 127-of-134 on extra points. He set NCAA single-season records with 83 extra points and 86 attempts in the 2005 season.

"We'll miss Mario terribly," USC coach Pete Carroll said through a school spokesman. "He was a wonderful kid and well liked by everyone. We'll be there to help his family in every way we can and we'll always be there for them. Mario was a great young man and he'll always be remembered by everyone that way."

Danelo was a walk-on at USC in 2003 and received a scholarship two years later, succeeding Ryan Killeen as the Trojans' kicker.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

[stomperrob]

Toxicology test shows he was in fact drunk.

Autopsy reveals USC kicker was drunk at time of fall
Feb. 5, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

LOS ANGELES -- Southern California kicker Mario Danelo was drunk when he plunged over a cliff to his death, but the coroner's office Monday was unable to say why he fell.

A toxicological report accompanying Danelo's autopsy report found he had 0.23 blood-alcohol level, nearly three times the legal limit in California. No drugs were detected in his body, the report said.

The autopsy report said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, but "because of the unanswered questions, we are stating the manner of death as undetermined," Deputy Medical Examiner Jeffrey Gutstadt of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office wrote in the report.

The 21-year-old player was found Jan. 6 more than 100 feet down a rocky cliff in San Pedro. Police said from the outset that foul play was ruled out and his death was either an accident or a suicide.

Following Danelo's death, several Southern California players said they were convinced the kicker did not take his own life.

A USC spokesman declined to comment about the coroner's report. Danelo's brother, Joey Danelo, was not immediately available for comment.

The report also couldn't ascertain Danelo's state of mind before his death, but he "would have had to scale a wall to get to the strip of land before the steep drop of about 150 feet while under the influence of alcohol."

Danelo, the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo, made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points. He made two field goals in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day to help USC beat Michigan 32-18.

He missed two field goals in his two-year career at USC, going 26-for-28, and he was 127-of-134 on extra points. He set NCAA single-season records with 83 extra points and 86 attempts in the 2005 season.

Danelo was a walk-on at USC in 2003 and received a scholarship two years later.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

[Cowboys 4 life]

If he was that drunk on those cliffs he fell. Some parts are fairly easy to walk on but others are trecherous.

I know right where he was found and they are not easy to walk on. You can easily slip while sober.