NFL Player Donte' Stallworth Injured in Hot Air Balloon Crash in Homestead: Agent

The aircraft's passenger basket crashed into power lines

NFL wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth received serious burns when a hot air balloon carrying him crashed into power lines in Homestead Saturday morning, his agent said.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus said Stallworth, who was hospitalized, won't suffer any permanent damage from the accident.

"He's going to be OK. He has some burns, but he's going to be fine," Rosenhaus told the Associated Press. "He will be able to continue his NFL career. The injuries are not to the extent they will jeopardize his career."

Stallworth should "resume football activities in the next few weeks," the agent told NBC News.

He was one of two people rushed to Kendall Regional Medical Center’s trauma center after the hot air balloon crashed in Homestead Saturday morning. The other injured person was Soleil Guerrero, 27, her father told NBC 6.

She was more seriously hurt, her brother said.

"Physically she looks good. She has second-degree burns, I believe, in her torso and in her arm, but she’s fine," Jimmy Guerrero said.

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The balloon's passenger basket, which had three adults aboard, crashed into power lines while airborne at Southwest 217th Avenue and Southwest 296th Street, Miami-Dade Police said. They were sent to the scene at about 10:02 a.m.

The balloon's operator was not injured.

Police said they are working in a support role for the National Transportation Safety Board as authorities respond to the incident.

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Stallworth was suspended for the NFL’s 2009 season after he struck and killed a Miami man with his car following a night of clubbing in Miami Beach in the early hours of March 14, 2009, according to authorities.

He served 24 days of a 30-day sentence under a DUI manslaughter plea deal. Its terms include probation for 10 years.

He played in one game last year for the New England Patriots before he was place on injured reserve with an ankle injury.

The crash's cause remained unclear Saturday, but Guerrero's family was grateful that everyone was OK.

"We are just thankful that she survived, because from what we know regularly people do not survive these things, so everything seems to be fine," Jimmy Guerrero said.

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