Details revealed of golf cart accident that killed Jeff Sperbeck

DENVER — The golf-cart incident that took the life of John Elway’s business partner and close friend Jeff Sperbeck was a tragedy that drew national attention.

Sperbeck suffered a fatal head injury after falling off a golf cart driven by Elway, the Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl-champion as a player (1997-98), and top football executive (2015) of the Denver Broncos.

9NEWS has spent the past week pursuing what happened during that tragic golf-cart ride from the Madison Club in La Quinta, Calif. After talking to sources with intimate knowledge of the incident, here’s what we have learned:

Elway, his girlfriend, his son Jack and his wife, the Sperbecks and their friends left a private function sponsored by Vuori clothing line at the Madison Club in La Quinta on the evening of April 26. They did not attend the outdoor Stagecoach country music festival in nearby Indio, as had been reported initially.

They did go to Stagecoach the night before, but it was windy and uncomfortably cold. They decided at the function Saturday afternoon not to go again because of the inclement weather. Instead, a caravan of three or four golf carts with a total of 10 to 15 people set out to make the quarter-mile trip to Elway’s house at the private golf resort’s community.

Elway’s son Jack and his group were in a cart ahead; Elway was driving a single-bench cart at the rear of the caravan. His girlfriend was seated next to him with Sperbeck’s wife, Cori, seated on the outside. Sperbeck and Johnny Devenanzio, who is also known by his stage name Johnny Bananas, stood in the back of the cart. The music was turned on. Again, it was a short ride of no more than a quarter mile.

In the past three decades or so, posh private golf communities have been built across the country. To those who may not be familiar, golf carts are the standard mode of transportation in these communities.

In a selfless gesture, Sperbeck told his wife to sit up front with Elway and his girlfriend, and that he and Devenanzio would ride in the back.

On the short drive, Elway was following the carts ahead when Sperbeck fell off, sources said.

There was no swerving or horseplay, according to sources. No one was drunk, according to multiple sources. The cart didn’t hit anything. It had been a smooth ride. 

Indications were that Sperbeck fell straight back and hit his head immediately. He had no other injuries, according to a source. 

After Sperbeck fell off the cart, Devenanzio yelled up to the front. Elway stopped the cart as Cori Sperbeck rushed to her husband. Sperbeck was breathing, but it was immediately apparent he had suffered a significant injury, a source said.

Elway called 9-1-1, according to a source, and paramedics arrived quickly, but little could be done.

Sperbeck was rushed to a local hospital with a brain injury and was soon placed on life support so doctors could remove his organs for donation. All his life, even in his final minutes, Sperbeck had given so much of himself to others. According to a source, the donor team had already found several transplant matches for Sperbeck’s organs.

While paramedics via ambulance and the fire department arrived, law enforcement did not respond because it was a medical emergency call.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office sent an e-mail to 9NEWS last Wednesday, then to other media outlets, stating it “was informed of the incident on Monday, April 28th, and opened an investigation.”

Sources told 9NEWS the incident was not Elway’s or anyone’s fault. It was simply a devastating accident.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office apparently concurs. On Friday, the sheriff’s office said on social media that while its investigation remains open, “There is nothing to indicate that this is anything more than a tragic accident.”