At the age of 24, Darrent Williams was near the top of a remarkable career in American football. He was earning $1.5 million (£750,000) a year, living like a rock star and hoping to help to take his team, the Denver Broncos, to a victory in the Super Bowl in February.

For an only child raised by a single parent in the tough black neighbourhoods of Fort Worth, Texas, he could hardly have had it any better.

But in less than 12 hours, beginning with a New Year’s Eve defeat against the San Francisco 49ers, Williams lost everything — including his life.

Hours before his death, the player was already in a glum mood. “There’s not much to say, other than it’s brutal,” he told reporters, referring to his team’s 26-23 loss in overtime on Sunday to the 49ers, a defeat that denied them a place in the National Football League playoffs, and therefore also a chance to compete in the Super Bowl.

In front of a crowd of more than 75,000, Williams had been forced to leave the field in the second half with a shoulder injury. It would be the defensive player’s final public appearance.

The loss was made more painful because the game was played at the Broncos’ Mile High stadium (named after Denver’s altitude), and the 49ers had already been knocked out of the playoffs, and had nothing to lose.

Nevertheless, Williams wanted to celebrate New Year’s Eve in typical celebrity style. By 2am, the football star was with friends, cruising the icy streets of Denver in the back of a stretched white Hummer — big enough for 23 people and rented at a cost of $250 per hour.

According to some reports, he had just left a nightclub. But another car was tailing him. Eventually, the mystery vehicle pulled up alongside the limousine, and its occupants opened fire — usually the trademark drive-by shooting of the Bloods and Crips street gangs.

An hour later, Williams was declared dead.

A police spokesman, Sonny Jackson, said that there was “some type of disagreement” at a nightclub and Williams left the party with his friends.

According to the police version, shortly afterwards, a white sports utility vehicle pulled alongside the limo. Shots were fired and Williams and two friends, a man and a woman, were hit, Mr Jackson said.

Televised images showed Williams’s white stretch limousine riddled with bullet holes.

“All three were taken to the hospital. Mr Williams was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a little after 2.30 this morning,” Mr Jackson told reporters. Williams’s two friends survived. “It’s a tragedy, a complete tragedy. It’s sickening,” said Cedric Smith, an assistant coach for the Broncos.

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