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Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard told reporters on Wednesday that he didn't watch Super Bowl LII because he was more concerned about the news surrounding linebacker Edwin Jackson.
Jackson and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe were killed when a drunk driver hit them with his vehicle while they were standing on the side of Interstate 70 on Sunday morning. Ballard said that, in his mind, those circumstances meant that the team's coaching search was put on hold until he heard from Josh McDaniels on Tuesday.
"To be very honest with you, after Sunday's events with the passing of Edwin Jackson and Jeffrey Monroe, it was a very tough two days. We're not even close to this coaching search," Ballard told reporters on Wednesday.
"My thoughts were with Edwin and Jeffrey and their families and the tragic deaths that occurred on Sunday morning. Very difficult day, very difficult couple of days, talking with both families, talking with our players.
"I want all of you to make sure you keep in perspective what's important in life. That's human life and that's people. How we treat people, telling the people that you're close to that you love them every day because tomorrow's not promised to any of us. It's not. Sunday was an eye opener that put a lot of great things in perspective for me."
Prosecutors filed felony charges on Wednesday against Manuel Orrego-Savala in the crash that killed Jackson and Monroe. The 37-year-old Orrego-Savala, who is from Guatemala and has twice been deported from the U.S., is charged with causing death while driving intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.
Court documents allege a test conducted at a hospital determined Orrego-Savala had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana's legal limit.
Jackson and Monroe were pronounced dead at the scene by the Marion County Coroner's Office. Jackson was 26; Monroe was 54.
Jackson started in eight games with the Colts in 2016. He was placed on injured reserve by the Colts in September 2017.
