The St. Louis Cardinals of Major League baseball lost one of their outfielders, Oscar Taveras, on Sunday October 26 in a tragic car accident. The accident occurred in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. According to Huffpost.com, 22 year old Oscar Taveras and his 18-year-old girlfriend, Ydelia Arvelos, were both in the car at the time of the accident and both were killed. Lieutenant Colonel Jose Armando Brito, of the Dominican police, stated that Taveras lost control of his 2014 Chevy Camaro and went off the road, then hitting a tree. “The roads were wet due to recent rains” said Brito, in an article from Usatoday.com, adding that he could not confirm whether speeding or alcohol were factors in the accident.

When Taveras first became a part of the Cardinals team in 2008 he was a free agent and didn’t get to play a game until this season in 2014. He was number 3 on MLB.com’s list of top 100 major league prospects. According to MLB.com, Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said, “We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family. 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.”   Cardinal’s general manager John Moseliak added, “I first met Oscar when he was 16 years old and will forever remember him as a wonderful young man who was a gifted athlete with an infectious love for life who lived every day to the fullest.”