FORMER NEW ENGLAND Patriots wide receiver David Patten, a member of three Super Bowl-winning rosters between 2002 and 2005, has died in a motorcycle accident, officials confirmed Friday.

The 47-year-old wideout was killed when a motorcycle he was riding was involved in a collision with another vehicle in Richland County, South Carolina, on Thursday.

“We are working with the South Carolina Highway Patrol to fully investigate this accident,” Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.

Patten won the first of his three Super Bowl rings in 2002, collecting a touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Brady en route to a victory over the then St. Louis Rams in New Orleans.

Patten also hauled in a crucial score in that season’s AFC Championship game victory over Pittsburgh to help send the Pats to the Super Bowl.

“I am heartbroken by the news of David’s passing,” Patriots chairman and chief executive Robert Kraft said in a statement on Friday.

“Our sincerest sympathies are with his wife, Galiena, his family and all who are mourning David’s tragic and untimely death.”

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Patten had been an “essential person and player in Patriots history, without whom we would not have been Super Bowl champions.”

“I especially appreciate David for his professional journey,” Belichick said. ”As much as anyone, David epitomised the unheralded, self-made player who defied enormous odds to not only earn a job in the NFL but to become a key player on multiple championship teams,” he added.

Patten also had stints with the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints during a 12-year NFL career before retiring in 2010.