TRAGIC

MLB Star Dies After Nightclub’s Roof Collapses

Initial reports had indicated Octavio Dotel had been pulled from the rubble alive.

Former major league pitcher Octavio Dotel, 51, died after the roof of a nightclub collapsed in the Dominican Republic, Noticias SIN, reported. His death was first reported by local media outlet Diario Libre, which said Dotel died while being transferred to the Central Hospital of the Armed Forces. The head of emergency operations, Gen. Juan Manuel Mendez, later confirmed this after initial reports suggested that the former baseball player who was found buried in the rubble had survived the roof caving in. The death toll from the tragic incident is now at twenty-seven, with 150 individuals injured. Dotel pitched for 13 different teams over the span of his 15-year major league career, including: the New York Mets, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers. He retired in 2013 after he won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. Former MLB players Esteban Germán and Henry Blanco were also present while singer Rubby Pérez was performing early Tuesday, but had left the club before the roof collapsed, La Nacion reported. “It happened so quickly. I managed to throw myself into a corner,” Pérez told Noticias SIN, adding he initially thought it was an earthquake.