Broncos Icon John Elway’s Lawyer Reacts to Death Investigation News

The investigation into the death of former Denver Broncos quarterback and executive John Elway’s long-time friend and business partner, Jeff Sperbeck, is “not … active,” per 9News’ Mike Klis.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said they are “extremely confident” Sperbeck’s death was an “accident.”

The news comes as the county coroner’s office officially stated the cause of Sperbeck’s death.

“We want to thank the Sheriff’s department for their thorough, complete investigation, confirming what we always knew: This was a terrible tragedy and an unbelievable accident,” Elway’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, told Klis in comments published on May 9.

Steinberg issued similar comments after Bianco’s previous ruling.

Elway issued a statement on April 30 following Sperbeck’s death. Elway did not address the circumstances of the situation and has not spoken publicly since.

Sperbeck’s wife, Cori, also released a statement the same day as Elway following her husband’s death. She expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support and asked for privacy. She also referred to the Broncos great, Elway, and his family as “dear friends” in the remarks.

Coroner, Sheriff’s Office Statements Critical for Former Broncos QB John Elway

Consistent with previous reports and witness testimony, Bianco assured that Elway showed no signs of intoxication as speculated in the immediate aftermath of Sperbeck’s death.

“The Cause of Death is ‘Blunt Head Trauma,’ and the Manner of Death is ‘Accident,’” the RSO Coroner’s Bureau said in a statement on X on May 9. “The Mode of Death (How the injury occurred) is ‘Passenger fell from golf cart,’” the Coroner’s Bureau said in the statement.

Bianco described Elway’s call to 9-1-1 as “articulate” and “very responsive,” per Klis, noting the interaction as a “normal urgent conversation.”

Bianco also quashed the idea that police did not immediately respond to the scene because of Elway’s status from his Broncos tenure, etc. He instead said emergency medical service personnel did not indicate “anything other than an accident.”

“There’s nothing to indicate other than he fell off the cart,” Bianco said.

“We have no information that anything improper was done. It’s just the mass media response was there because John Elway was involved.”

Bianco said they are still awaiting potential new information from “absentee” witnesses. However, the messaging so far has been good news for the former Broncos star, Elway. The potential implications of an alternative ruling were quite serious.

Witness Claimed John Elway’s Friend ‘Just Fell’ From Golf Cart Driven by Broncos Legend

“Jeff just fell backward off the golf cart. He fell in a really bad way, and there was just a lot of blood,” the source said, per The U.S. Sun’s Jessiva Finn on May 1. “They weren’t even driving erratically, or speeding, Jeff just fell off balance.

The witness also explained that Elway was not drinking at the time, despite previous reports indicating the possibility.

“John was not drinking because his sister just died from pancreatic cancer,” the witness said.

Another witness to the aftermath described what they saw upon arriving. They too noted Elway remained composed but acted with a sense of urgency.

“We got there, and he was, unfortunately, lying on the ground, and there were people surrounding him, just trying to make sure he was okay, and people were on the phone just trying to get help there as soon as they possibly could,” the witness told KESQ’s Blake Arthur on April 29. “As we were leaving, we heard the ambulance coming in, so it must have been probably five minutes.

“[Elway] was on the phone, trying to call 911, call anyone.”