Tyler Sash died from accidental overdose, medical examiner says

An autopsy has determined that former NFL and Iowa football player Tyler Sash died from an accidental overdose involving two pain medications.

Further tests will be administered to determine whether Sash, 27 at the time of his death, suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a brain disease resulting from repeated trauma. It will take several months for those results to be available. Both methadone and hydrocodone are opioids used to treat pain. Sash had endured a recent shoulder dislocation and had a history of chronic shoulder pains, “significant conditions”, according to the medical examiner.

Sash was discovered in his Oskaloosa, Iowa home on September 8.

Polly Carver-Kimm, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, said she couldn’t release any additional information about the pending CTE testing, including where it would be conducted.

Sash, who helped lead Iowa to an Orange Bowl victory in 2010, was a key special teams player on the Giants’ 2011 Super Bowl team, but his pro career was checkered, according to the New York Daily News. On October 13, the Iowa Department of Public Health said that an autopsy revealed the cause of death.

Bill Kostroun/ASSOCIATED PRESS Medical examiners conclude that Tyler Sash accidentally overdosed on methadone and hydrocordone.

“His passing has been a very, very sad thing”, Ferentz said.