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James Elrod, Twice a National Football Champion at Oklahoma, Dies at 62

James Elrod, an all-American defensive end on Oklahoma’s 1974 and 1975 national championship teams, died in a car crash on Monday. He was 62.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Elrod was killed when his car struck a guardrail about 3:45 a.m. on Interstate 44 near Chandler, Okla. He was thrown through the sunroof. His wife, Diana, was in the car and was hospitalized in serious condition, the University of Oklahoma said.

Elrod was not wearing a seatbelt, the patrol said, but his wife was.

His coach at Oklahoma, Barry Switzer, told The Tulsa World that Elrod and his wife had traveled to Las Vegas with the country music star Toby Keith.