Father of NFL player Caleb Farley dead after explosion at North Carolina home
Originally Published: 22 AUG 23 15:54 ET Updated: 22 AUG 23 17:31 ET By Melissa Alonso and Raja Razek, CNN
(CNN) — The father of Tennessee Titans cornerback Caleb Farley has died after an explosion and collapse of a North Carolina home that injured one other person, according to authorities.
The body of Robert Farley, 61, was found in a back bedroom, according to Iredell County Fire Marshal’s Office and Emergency Management spokesperson Kent Greene. Family friend Christian Rogers, 25, was injured, Greene added.
Emergency units arrived early Tuesday morning at the Mooresville property and found Rogers, who “was exiting the house and was transported to Atrium Main in Charlotte with non-life-threatening injuries,” Greene said earlier Tuesday.
“It was like Armageddon. There was insulation coming out of the air like snow, bricks down the street hundreds of feet away, pieces of wood,” a neighbor, Pete Schuerger, told CNN affiliate WBTV. “Pretty devastating to see that big explosion.”
Another neighbor, Clay Wild, told WBTV the explosion happened around midnight.
“It just sounded like a massive, like 10 times a thunder and lightning storm,” Wild said.
The 6,391-square foot home, about 30 miles north of Charlotte, and several vehicles are total losses, according to the statement.
The cause and origin of the explosion are under investigation, Greene said.
Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel said it’s most important for Titans players, coaches and officials to support Farley emotionally.
“It’s just shocking,” he told reporters at the team’s training facility. “But also we got to focus on Caleb and his family and what we can do to support them and be here for them.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Farley for comment.
County property records indicate Farley, who went to high school in nearby Maiden, purchased the 1.67-acre property on Lake Norman earlier this year. Greene could not confirm whether Farley was on scene or had spoken to authorities Tuesday.
A first-round draft pick in 2021, Farley played 12 games in his first two, injury-plagued seasons with the team. He currently is on the physically unable to perform list.
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