Cardinals Roster: Oscar Taveras Dead at 22 - Stats, Highlights & Family

Rookie Oscar Taveras of the St. Louis Cardinals died in a car accident on October 26, in his Dominican Republic hometown.

In a report by ABC News, Colonel Diego Pesqueira of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency said that the 22-year-old was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro between the beaches of Cabarete and Sosua in Puerto Plata, about 215 miles north of Santo Domingo, the capital city.

Jacobo Mateo Moquete, spokesman of the national police, said that he was told by the mayor of Sosua that the slugger lost control of his car and went off the road. Taveras was with an 18-year-old woman, Edilia Arvelo. Both of them were killed instantly during the accident. According to baseball officials, the woman was Taveras' girlfriend.

Pesqueira said in the same ABC News report, "He wasn't carrying documents at the time of the accident, but his body was identified by family members."

According to USA Today, Lieutenant Junior Lopez Reyes of the Puerto Plata police confirmed that Taveras and Arvelo died. He said, "We're still investigating at the scene. We've had some heavy rainfall here lately. It might have contributed to the accident."

In a report by Miami Herald, Taveras had a batting average of .239 in 80 games in the present MLB season. He also had three home runs and 22 RBI. One of the highlights of his rookie year was when he hit home run in the seventh inning, tying the game and eventually helping the Cardinals win Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. This was just two weeks before the car crash. His last game appearance was on October 16, 2014 in Game 5 between St. Louis and San Francisco, which the latter won.

News of Taveras' death surfaced during Game 5 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in the same report by USA Today, "Oscar, a young member of the baseball family, was full of promise and at the dawn of a wonderful career in our game, evident in his game-tying home run against the Giants exactly two weeks ago."

Bill DeWitt Jr., chairman of the Cardinals, 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 tonight."

The Cardinals added that they will give information about Taveras' funeral arrangements later on.