Officials say former New York Giants offensive lineman Mitch Petrus has died in Arkansas of apparent heat stroke. He was 32.
Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs says Petrus died Thursday night at a North Little Rock hospital. He says Petrus had worked outside all day at his family shop, and that his cause of death is listed as heat stroke.
Petrus was a University of Arkansas walk-on who played alongside Razorback greats Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and later earned all-Southeastern Conference honors. He was drafted by the Giants in the fifth round in 2010 and had a three-year NFL career, winning a Super Bowl with New York in his second season.
He also played briefly for the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans the following year. He played in 27 NFL games including Super Bowl XLVI, CBS affiliate KTHV reports.
The University of Arkansas football program tweeted its condolences.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Mitch Petrus. He was an outstanding competitor, incredible teammate and a true Hog. He will be greatly missed by many. Rest easy Mitch. pic.twitter.com/pMToZaWmc3
Like much of the U.S., Arkansas is in the grips of an intense heat wave.
CBS News' Dr. Tara Narula told CBS This Morning that people should be on the lookout for a number of symptoms that signal heat-related illnesses like heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
"So heat stroke is when your core temperature is 104 or higher and you start to have central nervous system dysfunction. At those higher temperatures, basically, your cells start to break down, your gut becomes leaky, you risk muscle damage, kidney, liver, brain damage and even heart damage," Narula said.
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