CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Reid Flair, the 25-year-old son of one of Charlotte s most legendary personalities, was incapacitated due to drugs, a police report states.
Flair was pronounced dead Friday when medics arrived at a SouthPark hotel following a frantic 911 conversation with his father, wrestler Ric Flair.
He s out cold! Ric Flair can be heard screaming on an audio recording. Flair sighed loudly as if catching his breath and then said, He s out cold and he s purple.
Please! he implored.
Reid Flair, whose real name was Richard Reid Fliehr, had just returned to Charlotte from a wrestling match in Japan and was scheduled to tour in the United States with his father. The day before his death, Flair tweeted: Two shows in Maryland this weekend with @RicFlairNatrBoy. Good #wrestling and even better times ahead.
According to recordings of two 911 calls placed by a clerk at the Residence Inn on Piedmont Row Drive South, Ric Flair got out of the elevator around 10:30 a.m. Friday, yelled for the clerk to call 911 and went back into the elevator. The clerk called 911, but didn t know what was wrong in Room 617. The clerk transferred the call up to the room, but no one answered.
The clerk called 911 a second time, again at Ric Flair s request, and that time was able to connect the 911 dispatcher with Flair. As the dispatcher pressed Flair for the room number and address of the hotel, Flair yelled:
Sir, what are you waiting for! and hung up. An ambulance was already on the way.
Police have ruled out foul play and are awaiting the Medical Examiner s toxicology report.
In the past, Reid Flair had several drug-related brushes with the law. In 2009, he was twice found guilty of DWI; in one of the cases, he was also charged with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia but those charges were dismissed. In 2006, he was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia and again both charges were dismissed.
Other criminal charges were also dismissed over the years, including assault on a female in 2004, and assault inflicting serious injury and assault and battery in 2007.
Reid Flair turned 25 in February and his father tweeted that day: Happy Birthday to my son @reid_flair who s wrestling in Japan right now. So proud of you and love you!
Staff researcher Maria David and staff writer Steve Lyttle contributed.
