Former NBA player Rasual Butler and wife, Leah LaBelle, were killed in a single-car crash early Wednesday morning in Studio City, Calif., the LA County Coroner confirmed.
The car struck a parking meter and hit the wall of a Marshalls department store, and an LAPD spokesman told KTLA that the vehicle was being driven “well in excess” of the posted speed limit, which drops from 35 mph to 30 mph in the area because of a sharp but gradual turn on Ventura Boulevard. The spokesman said investigators estimate the car was moving at a speed of 60 mph to 90 mph at the time of the crash.
“A witness observed the vehicle driving at a high rate of speed but told police that no other cars appeared to [be] on the road at the time, according to [LAPD Capt. Andy] Neiman,” KTLA reported. “Based on the witness account, investigators do not believe the SUV was involved in an illegal street race,” the station reported, citing Neiman.