Tomlinson's father killed in auto accident

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WACO, Texas (AP) -- The father of NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson was killed Friday when the pickup truck in which he was riding flipped on a highway.

Oliver Tomlinson was killed at about 1:30 p.m. in the one-vehicle rollover, said Charlie Morgan, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman. Tomlinson was 71.

The driver, Ronald C. McClain was taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center, where he later died, Morgan said. The 48-year-old McClain was Tomlinson's brother-in-law, authorities said.

The Department of Public Safety said that according to the accident report, McClain veered off the roadway and overcorrected, sending the car across the highway and into a ditch. The report does not mention a blown tire as initial accounts of the accident suggested. Both men were thrown from the truck, Morgan said.

Jewel Tomlinson, Oliver's wife and LaDainian's stepmother, said her husband and McClain had been returning to Waco after a trip to the family home in Tomlinson Hill, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported in its online edition Friday. She said Oliver, who lived in Chilton, had been staying in Waco recently while recovering from an illness.

LaDainian Tomlinson starred at Waco's University High School before going on to TCU and the San Diego Chargers.