The last time Keith Jones saw him, Eddie Griffin was smiling, upbeat and chatty. They met by chance last spring, at a Houston restaurant, and it seemed to Jones, a Rockets vice president, that Griffin  the troubled former Rockets forward  was optimistic.
“He looked really bright-eyed,” Jones said.
Rudy Tomjanovich recalls a similar encounter, in a much different environment. It was about four years ago, and Tomjanovich, the former Rockets coach, was visiting Griffin at a Houston rehabilitation center for alcohol abuse.
“He was just all smiles,” Tomjanovich said.
To those who cared about him, Griffin was the sort of troubled soul who always seemed to be on the cusp of turning his life around, if only he could stay on the right path.
For reasons that are not yet known, the 25-year-old Griffin drove his sport utility vehicle into the side of a moving train early last Friday morning. According to the Houston police, Griffin ignored a warning signal and drove through the railroad arm. Fire consumed the vehicle and Griffin died at the scene. Investigators needed dental records to identify the body.
Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Eddie Griffin died on August 17, 2007, at age 25 due to injuries sustained in a car crash, the Harris County medical examiner's office confirmed on Tuesday. 

The former Minnesota Timberwolves forward, who was waived in March for violating the League's substance abuse program, ignored a railroad warning, drove his SUV through a barrier, and collided with a moving train at about 1:30 a.m., according to Houston Police. His vehicle caught fire and was soon engulfed in flames. 

No identification was found and the body was badly burned. For that reason, dental records were used to identify him. Griffin, who played college Basketball at Seton Hall University, played for the Houston Rockets from 2001–2003, and the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2004–2007. The five-year veteran had been battling alcoholism since leaving Seton Hall. He is survived by his three-year-old daughter Amaree.