Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Carl Madsen, who worked as an NFL official for more than two decades, died on his way home from working a Week 7 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans in Nashville, the NFL said. He was 71.
The NFL announced Madsen's death Monday. A Nashville Police Department spokesman told UPI on Tuesday that Madsen suffered "medical emergency" while driving northbound Sunday on Interstate Highway 65 near downtown Nashville.
Madsen had worked as a replay official during the game.
Officers received calls about a vehicle blocking a lane on the interstate, the police spokesman said. An emergency crew responded to the scene and found Madsen unconscious.
First responders broke the passenger side window of the locked vehicle and attempted to revive Madsen, but were unsuccessful. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His cause of death has not been announced.
"Carl Madsen was an NFL officiating fixture for more than two decades, first as a highly respected on-field official before transitioning to a replay role beginning in 2009," NFL senior vice president of officiating training and development Walt Anderson said in a statement.
"Carl's love of football and dedication to officiating was ever-present, as he generously shared his time to mentor young officials at clinics across the country," Anderson said. "A veteran of the Air Force, Carl had a tremendous spirit and will be greatly missed."
Madsen was as an on-field NFL official from 1997 to 2008.
