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ST. LOUIS, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras died in a car crash Sunday in the Dominican Republic at the age of 22. Taveras and his girlfriend Edila Arevlo, 18, were killed in the accident not far from his home on the island.
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"We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family," said Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. "Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight."
Taveras signed with the Cardinals for $145,000 in 2008 when he was just 16. He started in the reserves and was promoted to the majors in June after Matt Adams sustained an injury.
The news of Taveras' death began to spread just before Game 5 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals.
Fellow players tweeted messages of prayers and condolences to the Taveras family.
So sad to hear about Oscar. My prayers go out to his family. In complete shock.. So sad.. Life isn't fair
Advertisement— Randal Grichuk (@RGrich15) October 27, 2014Absolute Tragedy.. My prayers go out to Oscar Taveras family.
— Matt Carpenter (@MattCarp13) October 27, 2014Today is a one of the saddest days of my life, i lost a brother, friend and teammate! I cant believe he's gone, I loved him dearly! RIP OT18
— Carlos Martinez (@Tsunamy27) October 27, 2014The MLB has provided no details about the accident.
