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Look: Tragedy Struck No. 1 Draft Pick Ben Simmons Over the Weekend

Here's why the Sixers' rookie forward and his family are reeling.

It was supposed to be the happiest time of Ben Simmons's life. Instead, that joy has been replaced with tragedy.

Less than 48 hours after the 6-foot-10 forward was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on Thursday night, Simmons's cousin was killed in a hit-and-run incident early Saturday morning in New Jersey.

According to CBS New York, witnesses heard two loud thuds when Zachary Simmons, 21, was hit by a black SUV around 3:30 a.m. in the Hoboken section of New Jersey on Saturday morning. Police are still investigating the crime.

"To be speeding enough to kill my child is beyond me," Zachary's mom, Monique Steele, told CBS. "He had just went to the NBA draft for his first cousin — number one draft pick.” 

Ben was devastated to learn the news about his cousin, taking to his Twitter account to share his grief.

 

Our condolences to the Simmons family.

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