Shocker

Car Crash Kills Cardinals' Oscar Taveras

Outfielder was top hitting prospect.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras was killed Sunday in an auto accident in his native Dominican Republic, police confirmed. Taveras’ girlfriend, identified by local media as Edilia Arvelo, also died in the crash. Taveras, 22, was considered one of the top hitting prospects in baseball since his first at-bat in the minor leagues. He and his girlfriend died in an accident on a stretch of highway as they were heading toward his hometown of Sosua. The Cardinals released a statement expressing condolences as well as shock at the sudden absence of their rising star. “I simply can’t believe it,” General Manager John Moseliak said in a club statement. Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. added: “We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family.” The cause of the crash was not immediately known.