Just a bit shaken up...

 

Link

 

Car wreck shakes up Marlins

 

By Joe Capozzi, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

 

Right fielder Miguel Cabrera, catcher Ramon Castro and local pitcher David Manning are winter ball teammates with the Araguas Tigers this month in Venezuela, where they're preparing to join the Marlins next month in Jupiter for spring training.

 

But on Tuesday, the three were trying to regain their composure in the aftermath of a horrific traffic accident in the mountains 90 miles east of Caracas on Sunday that injured three teammates and killed the driver of another vehicle.

 

"From what he told me it was pretty horrific. It shook the team up. They were all crying,'' Darlene Manning of suburban West Palm Beach said after speaking with her son.

 

Cabrera, Castro and Manning, who is a graduate of Cardinal Newman, were not injured because they were traveling in a bus behind the minivan that was involved in the accident. The van was leading a caravan of three team vehicles along a two-lane road when the accident occurred.

 

"They were going up a hill and a car was coming from the other direction. The car was trying to pass another car and entered their lane and hit (the minivan) head on,'' Darlene Manning said.

 

"He said four people (on the team's minivan) went through the windshield. He ran over to one of the 'clubbies' who had a ruptured artery. (Manning) was wearing his Notre Dame jacket and said there was blood all over it because he wrapped it around the kid and held him until help got there."

 

Two of Manning's teammates, minor-league pitchers from the Minnesota Twins, were injured. Horacio Estrada, who pitched a no-hitter for the Class AA New Britain Rock Cats last season, broke a leg in four places and is out for the season.

 

Josmir Romera, who also pitched for New Britain, and designated hitter Raul Mercano each sustained minor injuries. The van's driver and two clubhouse attendants also were injured; their status was not known Tuesday.

 

The driver of the car that collided with the minivan was killed and two passengers in his car were injured.

 

After the accident, Manning, Cabrera and Castro went with the rest of the team to a hospital to be with their teammates. The game was canceled Sunday.

 

The Marlins learned about the accident Tuesday and were relieved to hear their players were not hurt.

 

Two other buses driving with the caravan were not involved in the accident.

 

Manning will join the Marlins for spring training as a non-roster invitee. The right-hander became the first Cardinal Newman High graduate (Class of 1989) to reach the majors last season when he went 0-2 with a 16.20 ERA in two starts for the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

Manning, 31, could not be reached in Venezuela on Tuesday because the Tigers were playing a doubleheader.

 

joe_capozzi@pbpost.com

I was perplexed to see Ramon Castro in this story having just ended his play in PR winter league, it appears from this story he just packed up his cup and went on to South America.

 

I wonder how many nurses he hit on at the hospital? My bad (lol)

I read the story in the official Venezuelan Winter League site, and Miguel was not involved on this accident. He was riding on a separate vehicle.

 

In addition, this is a different Ramon Castro and not our catcher.

 

No reason to be concerned here.

well thats weird

I read the story in the official Venezuelan Winter League site, and Miguel was not involved on this accident. He was riding on a separate vehicle.

 

In addition, this is a different Ramon Castro and not our catcher.

 

No reason to be concerned here.

 

Thanks for clarifying that about (our) Castro, it made no sense for him to be going down there for even more playing time.

It is still pretty sobering to think how close we could have come to losing Cabrera for the season.

It is weird, PB. I just thank God that the guys are okay. I feel for the people hurt and their families though. :confused

All that matters is that all of them are alive and will live on for another day

Ramon Castro, catcher, is not our's?

 

Good thing everyone is okay.

you guys keep saying how you're so happy no one was hurt but people died in this crash, you gotta think about other people too, even if they're not the future of baseball (Miguel Cabrera)

one person died: the idiot driver who caused the accident.

 

obviously it sucks that someone died, but if i had to choose one person to die in that accident, it would have been him.

obviously it sucks that someone died, but if i had to choose one person to die in that accident, it would have been him.

..... lol dont ask me why i find this funny but i do.

Yeah, I thought the worst when I started reading the article. I was in disbelief because I figured this team has suffered enough - knock on wood. It is good to find out too that the other players are in recovery and seem to still be able to play, after some time on the DL. This thing reminds me of all these summers I spend in Italy - very similar driving. I know, I drive a mini-van while over there. Italians are crazy on motorcycles...got some stories there.

Thank god none got injured. We need Migs in the lineup this season without our number 3 hitter here no more.

you guys keep saying how you're so happy no one was hurt but people died in this crash, you gotta think about other people too, even if they're not the future of baseball (Miguel Cabrera)

Well when you see the headline, and you presume bad news from your favorite player you tend to get worried.

Alkazoid: I couldn't agree with you anymore!