Aaron Hernandez Update: Ex-NFL star's uncle killed in moped crash in Conn.
(CBS/AP) BRISTOL, Conn. - The uncle of murder suspect and former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was killed over the weekend in a moped crash in Connecticut.
PICTURES: NFL tight-end Aaron Hernandez
PICTURES: Notable athletes involved in murder-related cases
According to CBS affiliate WFSB, officers were called to the scene of the crash around 1 a.m. Saturday morning. The victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was identified as 49-year-old Robert Valentine of Bristol, Conn. He died of a serious head injury, the station reports.
During their investigation, police determined that Valentine struck a curb while operating the moped and was thrown from the vehicle into a private driveway where he struck another curb, the station reports.
Police say Valentine was not wearing a helmet.
READ: Timeline of Aaron Hernandez murder investigation
Sources told WFSB that Valentine is the brother of Terri Hernandez, who is the mother of Aaron Hernandez.
Hernandez, 23, is charged in the murder of Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. Lloyd's body was found June 17, not far from Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Mass. He has pleaded not guilty.
The crash Saturday was the second recent fatal accident involving a Hernandez relative. Thaddeus Singleton III of Bristol was killed when the car he was driving slammed into a country club building on June 30. He was married to Hernandez's cousin.
Bristol, the hometown of Hernandez, has been the setting of many searches tied to the former New England Patriot's murder investigation. Authorities searched Pine Lake in Bristol last week in an attempt to locate a .45-caliber Glock, which is believed to have been used in the murder of Lloyd. Nothing has been found in the lake, but crews could continue searching the body of water this week, WFSB reports.
The lake is less than 2.5 miles from the home of another Hernandez uncle, which has also been a point of interest in the investigation. On June 28, a silver SUV reportedly matching the description of a car Boston police had been looking for in connection with an unsolved 2012 double-murder was towed from that home at the request of police. The Boston Globe has reported that prosecutors have begun making the case to a grand jury that Hernandez should be charged in those killings.
Two of Hernandez's associates, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, both with Connecticut connections, face lesser charges in the death of the 27-year-old Lloyd.
The fatal crash on Saturday remains under investigation and anyone with information is urged to contact the Bristol Police Department Traffic Division at (860) 584-3030.
Complete coverage of Aaron Hernandez on Crimesider
