The television characters we get attached to are often completely fictional, so it’s relatively easy to see them come and go at a writer’s whim.  Not so for Friday Night Lights’ Jason Street, whose character is based on David Edwards, a high school footballer who has died a few days shy of his 21st birthday.

Just 20 years old, David was injured by playing high school football for San Antonio Madison in November 2003. He was a defensive back, and while going after a pass, he collided with an Austin Westlake receiver. Edwards’ neck was broken and the injury resulted in his becoming paralyzed.
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Since FNL’s premiere in 2006, the Street character has been shown coping with life as a paraplegic, confined to a wheelchair.