Beloved sports journalist Wes Rucker died in a car crash in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Thursday, February 19. He was 43 years old. The accident happened on I-40 near Cedar Bluff, a neighborhood in Knoxville. Rucker was the only fatality. Rucker's father-in-law, David Goldberg, confirmed the news in a Facebook post on Thursday. "This is so very sad," Goldberg wrote. "My son-in-law Wes Rucker married to my daughter Lauren was tragically killed in a car accident several hours ago." Celebrity Deaths of 2026: Eric Dane, and More Stars We Lost This Year He added, "We are heartbroken.