When Rasual Butler died in a horrific car accident on Jan. 31, he left behind a daughter, Raven Butler, from a previous relationship. There is not much public information available about Raven, but from her Instagram page, it appears she is a teenager. One thing is for certain, though — her father loved her very much. In fact, he publicly gushed over her in a sweet Instagram post just three days before he and his wife, Leah LaBelle, were tragically killed. The former basketball star took to social media to share a photo of his daughter and in the caption, he raved about how proud he was to be her dad.
“Her Aura, spirit, style, creativity, intellect, passion and understanding for her age is a beautiful thing to watch as [a] very proud father!” Rasual wrote. “She understands things about being solid many adults struggle with! I love you with every single element of human anatomy that allows me to be here in the physical as your father, friend, partner and inspiration for everything driving me to be the ultimate best version of me.” The sweet note makes news of Rasual’s sudden death even more tragic, and it’s unimaginable what Raven is going through.
Rasual was driving his Range Rover through Studio City, California, when he crashed it into a parking meter and a wall. The car flipped over in the crash, killing Rasual and Leah. “We did our best to get the occupants out in time, but they were already deceased, unfortunately,” a spokesperson for the LAFD Valley Bureau told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. So sad.
HollywoodLifers, leave your thoughts for Raven and the rest of Rasual’s family and loved ones in the comments section below.