The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, which is still actively investigating the incident from this past weekend involving John Elway, is fairly certain that the golf cart accident that took the life of 62-year-old Jeff Sperbeck was just a “tragic accident.”
Elway, who spent his entire 16 year playing career in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, is considered to be one of the all-time greats when it comes to NFL quarterbacks. He’s long been retired from the NFL now, and he even stepped away from his management affiliations with the Broncos back in 2023.
Since then, he’s focused on other endeavors, like the 7Cellars winery that he started in 2013 with his former-agent-turned-business-partner Jeff Sperbeck. Below is a post from 2024 encouraging followers of 7Cellars to “Meet the Makers,” with Elway and Sperbeck posing for a picture with wine glasses in hand:
Unfortunately, reports that became public earlier this week confirmed that Jeff Sperbeck suffered a life-threatening head injury last Saturday after being involved in a golf cart accident. TMZ Sports confirmed that John Elway had been the one driving the small vehicle when his friend and former agent fell from the moving golf cart. On Wednesday, it was reported that Jeff Sperbeck had died at the age of 62, succumbing to the injuries he suffered during the accident.
As I mentioned earlier, the police are still actively investigating the fatal incident, and according to the limited information released by law enforcement, Elway was driving a golf cart in La Quinta, California inside a private golf community. John’s former agent and business partner – Sperbeck – was apparently riding on the back of the small vehicle. At some point, Sperbeck fell off the back of the golf cart and suffered a traumatic injury when he hit his head on the asphalt.
Early reports suggest that John Elway did nothing wrong during the incident that ultimately took the life of Jeff Sperbeck, and eye-witness statements have all but confirmed that. Investigators were also able to confirm that the golf cart did not malfunction, and that the Hall of Fame quarterback showed no signs of being intoxicated.
There’s a chance that this accident will, in fact, be categorized as a freak accident, though more information on how everything went down is still needed. Surveillance video that was obtained from the neighborhood is hopefully going to clear up any discrepancies that haven’t been nailed down by witness statement.
From what we know, Elway was the one who called 911 immediately after the accident occurred, frantically trying to save his friend’s life. The arrival of paramedics and authorities were apparently slowed because a majority of law enforcement in the area were stationed at the Stagecoach music festival nearby. Sperbeck was eventually transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center, located in Palm Springs, California.
Sheriff Chad Bianco of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said that the medical personnel who responded did not suspect any sort of intention or foul play:
“It is common practice for medical personnel, whether it be an ambulance personnel or hospital personnel or even fire personnel, to call us after the scene of an accident because something doesn’t look right. And this was not the case. We’re doing everything we can to make sure that this is what it appears to be… just an accident.”
The paramedics and those at the hospital did all they could to save Sperbeck’s life, but the early reports suggested that the former NFL agent had to be put on life support, mainly so that doctors could harvest his organs for donations. Those reports were proven to be true, as it has now been confirmed that Jeff Sperbeck passed away from the head injury early this morning.
Elway released this statement via social media earlier this week in response to the news of Sperbeck’s death becoming public:
“I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck. There are no words to truly express the profound sadness I feel with the sudden loss of someone who has meant so much to me. My heart and deepest sympathies go out to Jeff’s wife, Cori; his children Carly, Sam and Jackson; and everyone who knew and loved him. Jeff will be deeply missed for the loyalty, wisdom, friendship and love he brought into my life and the lives of so many others.”
It’s believed that Elway, Sperbeck and their wives had spent the entire day together prior to the accident at the Stagecoach music festival (which took place in Indio, California), and they were leaving an after party type of event around 7 at night on April 26 when the golf cart accident occurred. Jeff Sperbeck’s wife, Cori, released a statement as well on behalf of her and the entire Sperbeck family:
“We are deeply saddened to share the passing of our beloved Jeff Sperbeck. He was a wonderful father, husband, brother, son and friend to many and will be profoundly missed by all. We are grieving this unimaginable loss as a family alongside our dearest friends the Elway’s and the many other clients Jeff called friends. We are grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of support that we have received and ask for privacy for our family at this difficult time.”
And though the investigation is still technically open, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department believes that it won’t take very long for them to cease their investigative efforts, telling TMZ:
“We have not completed our investigation but at this point there is nothing to indicate that this is anything more than a tragic accident.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Sperbeck and Elway families.
The post California Sheriff’s Department Says Fatal Golf Cart Incident Involving John Elway & His Business Partner Was Simply A “Tragic Accident” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.