A man who recently lost his life in an accident early Wednesday morning has been identified as former professional wrestler and manager, Thomas M. Sullivan, better know by the stage name “Luscious” Johnny Valiant. Having passed away after being taken to a local hospital, Sullivan is believed to have been 71 at the time of his death.
What happened?
According to WPXI Channel 11, which had been the first publication to break the news of Sullivan’s passing on Facebook, Ross Township Police Det. Brian Kohlhepp issued the following statement concerning the accident, saying that the investigation was ongoing:
“The driver of the truck stayed here on the scene. There’s no indication that this was anything other than a terrible accident at this point, but we’re still investigating.”
According to CBS Pittsburgh, Kohlhepp later gave a more detailed description of what happened:
“The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the hospital, but we are very early on in the investigation, but we are still looking into what might have happened because of visibility because of the time of day.”
“As far as we can tell, he was only struck by the one vehicle. It was traveling southbound, and we do have other witnesses. There was other traffic on McKnight at the time, so we were able to speak with people who actually witnessed the accident.”
Under the “Johnny Valiant” persona, Sullivan worked as a professional WWE pro wrestler in the ’70s and ’80s; he also worked as a manager in the sport, later being inducted into the hall of fame in 1996.. The official WWE website issued the following statements concerning the news of Sullivan’s passing:
“WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer ‘Luscious’ Johnny Valiant reportedly passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 71.”
“WWE extends its condolences to Valiant’s family, friends and fans”
What was Thomas M. Sullivan’s official cause of death?
At this time, the investigation looking into Sullivan’s death is believed to be ongoing.
As this story is developing, more information will be updated as made available.