Youngest son of Leafs president and GM Brian Burke dies at 21
Posted February 5, 2010 11:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The youngest son of Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke has died after a fatal car crash in Indiana.
It happened just before 3 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 35, police told an Indiana newspaper.
Brendan Burke was driving a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee when witnesses said the vehicle slid sideways into an oncoming truck.
An 18-year-old was in the vehicle with Burke when it happened and also died.
The 24-year-old driver of the other vehicle was not hurt in the incident.
Weather is believed to have been a factor in the crash.
Police in Indiana said roads have been treacherous because of heavy snow fall in the area.
Brendan Burke did not work for the Leafs or in Canada, but as the FAN 590’s Howard Burger told 680News, many people recently got to know him.
“When he had the courage to come out and publicly reveal that he was gay … that was back in the last week of November. The story came out and the bond and the love and the pride that Brian and Brendan had for each other was so evident that on an intermission of a Maple Leaf telecast on TSN when the two of them spoke about the revelation,” Burger said.
The Toronto Maple Leafs released a statement Friday night that said:
“We are saddened to report that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an auto accident earlier today in Indiana. The family asks for privacy at this difficult time.”
