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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 7:38 p.m., Monday, June 11, 2007

Nuggets guard J.R. Smith's passenger dies from injuries

By Larry DiTore
Bloomberg News Service

A man who was thrown from Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith's sport-utility vehicle during an accident over the weekend died today, the New Jersey state police said.

Andre Bell, 21, was thrown from the back seat of Smith's vehicle when it went through a stop sign, was struck by another automobile and flipped over two days ago in Millstone Township, New Jersey.

Bell, who had been in a coma, died from head injuries around 6 p.m. local time at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center, state police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said in a telephone interview.

The 20-year-old Smith, who was also thrown from the vehicle, remained at the hospital today with a left shoulder injury, scratches and bruises, he said.

Smith, who lives in Millstone Township, and Bell, of East Orange, N.J., both weren't wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, Jones said.

Smith was issued tickets for failure to stop at a stop sign and improper passing, Jones said.

Smith averaged a career-high 13.0 points with 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 63 games last season, his first with Denver after spending his first two in the National Basketball Association with the New Orleans Hornets.

He was drafted by the Hornets in 2004 after playing at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, N.J.