HOUSTON – A former NFL star whose 3-year-old son was struck and killed in Kingwood Friday says he is still in disbelief over the tragedy and is battling to get his son's body returned to Georgia.
"I didn't know if it was a dream, a nightmare or if I had just heard it wrong. It turns out that it was totally accurate," Ware said during a news conference on Wednesday. "I'm here as a heartbroken father just trying to get answers about what happened to my son."
[RAW: DJ Ware speaks about tragic death of son]
Ware is a former NFL running back who lives in Atlanta. His son, Danny Josiah Ware, was in the Houston area with his mother when he was hit by a pickup truck in the 4400 block of Broadleaf at Maple Park. The boy was riding a bike at the time and the truck was being driven by a family friend.
"I talked to my sons at 10 o'clock. It was the first time I had talked to them in a few days through multiple efforts of trying to speak to them," Ware said. "I got to tell them I loved them and I missed them and I would see them soon and a few hours after I got off work and I went home and laid down from just being tired, I woke up to a phone call to the worst news a parent should ever have to hear; your 3-year-old baby has just been killed."
Ware said he still has plenty of unanswered questions.
"Why was he in the road? Why did he get run over? Why was there nobody there that could have told him to move and get out the way, or grab him? Anything like that," he said.
After the boy's death, a contentious battle over his body was sparked between the father and mother. The boy's mother filed a temporary restraining order to block Ware's attempt to move the body to Atlanta. A court document appears to reveal problems between the couple.
"Plaintiff and her son recently came to Houston, Texas, to get away from a negative and unhealthy situation in Georgia with the estranged husband, Danny Ware," the document read.
Causing more controversy, people began to question a GoFundMe account that was set up on a memorial page for the boy.
Ware's lawyer, L. Chris Stewart, said there were no ill intentions behind the page.
"The GoFundmMe account that everyone is talking about, that was not created by Mr. Ware. That was created by UGA Football alum out of friendship and compassion because that's how tight of a team they were and they knew how badly his heart was broken," Stewart said. "They weren't for legal expenses whatsoever, so that's inaccurate."
Ware, 30, played college football at the University of Georgia from 2003-2006 and spent the next six years in the NFL, where he won two Super Bowls as a member of the New York Giants. He last played in the NFL in 2012-2013 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His attorney said his past accomplishments have nothing to do with his lifestyle or his terrible loss.
"The portrayal because Mr. Ware has two Super Bowl rings (and) he's a multimillionaire person living this kind of lifestyle is totally inaccurate," Stewart said. "Mr. Ware played football, yes, he does have two Super Bowl rings, but that was years ago. What people don't know is that he went back to school years ago, he got his degree and works a 9 to 5 just like everybody," the attorney said.
Ware just wants to bring both of his sons home; one to bury and one to help heal from the loss of his brother.
"My heart can't take much more of this. It has turned into something that I really never expected. All I want is for my son Daniel Josiah's body to be brought back to Georgia to be buried where all his family is. Everybody that knows him, everybody that loves him, everybody that has come into contact with his life has a special part of him in them and they want to be able to celebrate his life without having to go to Texas to bury him where he knows no one," Ware said. "This is the right place for him to be."
Ware feels he needs to focus on caring for his 5-year-old son.
"He is the most important thing to me right now because I have a fear that he may be mentally scarred from this for a long time," Ware said.
He says both he and his surviving son will need help and strong counseling moving forward.