Ex-NBA player Rasual Butler, wife die in Los Angeles crash

In this July 19, 2015 photo, NBA player Rasual Butler (left) and singer Leah LaBelle (right) attend The Players’ Awards presented by BET at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for BET/AFP)

LOS ANGELES — Former NBA forward Rasual Butler and his wife were killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash in Los Angeles.

The crash happened around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday in the Studio City area and left a swath of damage along a major thoroughfare.

Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said the 38-year-old Butler and 31-year-old Leah LaBelle Vladowski were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies are pending, as of this posting.

Butler was drafted in 2002 by the Miami Heat and played for a total of eight NBA teams including the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs.

Butler’s wife was an R&B singer signed to Epic Records. She placed 12th on the third season of “American Idol” in 2004.            /kga