Raiders Safety Toran Suffered a Tragic Death

Sports Illustrated Raider Maven recently posted a story on this reporter’s all-time Raiders team, and safety Stacey Toran eventually might have been a candidate for that team, had he lived long enough to complete his career.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Toran was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the sixth round (No. 186 overall) of the 1984 NFL draft out of Notre Dame, where he earned honorable mention All-American and became a starter in his second season with the Silver and Black.

Toran returned a pass interception 76 yards for a touchdown in that first year as a starter and two years later he had three picks and took one back 48 yards for another score, and in his five seasons with the Raiders he had six interceptions that he returned for 152 yards in addition to making nine sacks and two fumble recoveries.

In 1987, Toran was second in the NFL among defensive backs with 65 tackles, including 10 against the New England Patriots. He also made 10 tackles in 1986 games against the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers.

However, Toran was killed when his car skidded out of control, flipped over several times, and crashed into a tree not far from this home in Marina del Rey several hours after a preseason game on Aug. 6, 1989.

“It’s a tragic loss,” Raiders spokesman John Herrera said. “Our hearts go out to his family. He wore the Raider uniform with dignity, pride and class and we’re deeply moved by his loss.”

Said Raiders Managing General Partner Al Davis, “When my players and friends start dying, I can’t win that battle. The team? We’ll get this thing straight. When someone’s sick, I can go to a hospital and actually help the thing and eventually win.

“But this death, I can’t beat it. I can’t win. It makes you callous. You almost begin to accept death a little bit, but you don’t want to do that. … (Toran) was a great Raider.”

Toran, 27, was driving his 1984 BMW when the car skidded out of control about 11:30 p.m. when he was driving about 40 mph, Los Angeles Police Sgt. Michael Florio said. Toran, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and onto the pavement.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was in the vehicle.

“Prior to the actual impact, the car skidded down the curb and across the sidewalk into a grassy park,” Florio said. “Once that happened, the vehicle flipped a number of times and came to rest after slamming into the tree.”

Investigators did not determine what caused Toran to lose control of the car and said they found no indication that the incident was either alcohol or drug-related.

However, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office reported several days later that Toran had a blood-alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit when he was killed.

The results of a toxicological examination gave Toran's blood-alcohol level at .32 percent, said Robert Dambacher, spokesman for the coroner. Under California law, the level at which a person is considered to be driving under the influence of alcohol is .10 percent.

“'That’s the only drug found in his system,” Dambacher said. “'Everything else proved negative.”

The autopsy report disclosed that the 27-year-old Toran died of “multiple head and chest injuries,” the autopsy report disclosed.

Toran was the second active Raider player to die in an automobile accident during the nearly 30 years the franchise had been in existence.

Roger Hagberg, 31, a fullback for the Oakland Raiders in the late 1960s, was killed in an accident near his home in Lafayette, a suburb of Oakland, on April 15, 1970.

Toran and Hagberg both wore uniform No. 30 for the Raiders by tragic coincidence.

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