Angels' Adenhart killed in accident
Rookie right-hander reportedly dies in three-car crash

Angels rookie right-hander Nick Adenhart died early Thursday morning in a car accident in Fullerton, Calif., a family member told television station WHAG, located in the pitcher's native Maryland.

Three people were killed and another was seriously injured in the accident, which involved three vehicles. Authorities are blaming the accident on a motorist who ran a red light with his van and then fled the scene. He was later captured and charged with felony hit-and-run.

An associate of Adenhart's confirmed the pitcher's death to the Los Angeles Times.

A gray Mistubishi, hit by the van, slammed into a light pole, the TV station reported. Two of the occupants in the Mitsubishi were declared dead at the scene and a third died just after 6 a.m. PT on Thursday.

A fourth occupant is at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange in critical condition, said WHAG.

It was unclear if Adenhart was killed immediately or died after being transported from the scene. A passenger from the van was taken to Western Medical Center in Anaheim with minor injuries. A third vehicle, which was stopped in the intersection at the time of the accident, was also involved but the driver was seriously hurt.

Adenhart, 22, made his season debut against Oakland on Wednesday night, shutting out the A's for six innings in a game the Angels eventually lost, 6-3.

A 14th-round Draft choice in 2004, Adenhart made his Major League debut on May 1 last season and pitched in three games, going 1-0 in the three starts.

This is the last thing the Angels needed as they are low on starting pitchers with Ervin Santana, John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar are on the DL. It's a damn shame that he was killed so young and we'll never know what kind of pitcher he would've turned out to be.

My prayers go out to his family.

Not only the guy runs a red light but he flees the scene.

Terrible news.

Angels rookie Adenhart killed in hit-and-run crash
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—Los Angeles Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two other people were killed Thursday when a minivan ran a red light and struck their sports car, authorities said.

Adenhart, 22, died after undergoing surgery, University of California, Irvine Medical Center spokesman John Murray said.

A fourth person remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Adenhart, of Silver Spring, Md., was the Angels’ No. 3 starter. He threw six scoreless innings Wednesday night in his fourth major-league start and first of the season. Oakland won the game 6-4.

Adenhart and three other people were in a silver Mitsubishi that was struck shortly before 12:30 a.m. by a minivan that ran a red light and also hit another vehicle, police said.

The sports car struck a light pole, killing three people inside.

Police Lt. Craig Brower said the minivan driver fled the crash scene and was captured a short time later. The driver was arrested and booked for investigation of felony hit-and-run.

Adenhart, a right-hander, earned a spot in the starting rotation on an injury-plagued Angels staff by impressing manager Mike Scioscia late in spring training.

The pitcher made his major league debut May 1 of last year, also against Oakland. He made two other starts, getting his only decision in a victory over the Chicago White Sox on May 12. He was 37-28 in the minor leagues from 2005-08, including 9-13 last year at Triple-A Salt Lake.

There was to be a moment of silence before the start of the Texas Rangers’ home game against the Cleveland Indians.

This kind of death is always senseless but it really hurts the MLB family.

I just read about this. How awful And so young A damn shame.

We think these young men are so beautifully invincible...and then something like this unfortunately reminds us that death doesn't care who you are.

Beautifully invincible.. that's a good way to put it. Yes, reading about this totally shocked me. So sad.

I do appreciate the male gender.....

Supposedly the driver has a history of driving drunk and was driving with a suspended license. Luckily he is the one who wasn't hurt.

That scenario has happened more times that not...

I guess you're better off driving drunk than not. The drunk drivers never kill themselves, just everyone else.

MLB Network is reporting that the lone survivor in Adenhart's car, Jon Wilhite, has died.

Here's what the driver had to say the last time he was arrested for a DUI:

"I understand that if I continue to drink and drive it may result in death or serious bodily injury to another person"

Obviously he didn't understand. I wonder if he understands it now?

Angels game postponed tonight according to MLB.com

I would hope so.

so sad.

this is why most d-bags who drink should die.

the assholes have the lame GFs blow in the sensor so that is pretty much worthless. these losers get away with anything. The assholes would end up wearing gloves 24-7 if they put a sensor in the steering wheel. It seems like every story has the drunk didnt even have a license anymore blah blah.

They really need to change the laws about EVERYTHING that is bad. They are worrying about the most stupid things. Cant resale toys, trying to bust people who grow and sell (and even when you give them away) veggies. Lame. There are major crimes going on every minute.

Enough is enough. Fuck jail. Kill someone, die. Steal, a body part gets cut off everytime. Rape, moleste, cut their fucking dick and balls off, then die if they continue.

Sorry if this is harsh, but I am so sick of hearing this kind of stuff day after day. They baby these criminals way to much. Guards in a prison? I dont have anyone watching me and pick me up if I fall or get knocked down. If I dont have money, guess what, I dont eat let alone 2-3 meals a day. Why do these creeps? Have the guards on the outside beyond the fence so they can shoot them when they try to escape. How many times do we have to hear about a poor guard being beaten to death by a nut inside a prison. Fuck em!

Stop worrying about the stupid crap and put a stop to the bad.

austin

Watch the guy be out of jail in 20 years only to run down some more people.

The one thing he's got going against him was he killed an Angel and not a Dodger. Orange County is known for being incredibly conservative and studies show that in courtrooms in conservative areas you are far more likely to be convicted and far more likely to get a longer sentence.

Angels' Adenhart killed in accident
Rookie right-hander dies in three-car hit-and-run crash

By Tom Singer / MLB.com

04/09/09 4:30 PM ET

ORANGE, Calif. -- On one of the saddest mornings in Angels history, a groundskeeper on the field in Angel Stadium smoothed the pitching rubber on which Nick Adenhart stood 13 hours before.

In a conference room on the third floor of the park, Adenhart's No. 34 uniform was draped over a table atop the dais. On its left sleeve, a "Preston" patch commemorating the recent passing of Angels exec Preston Gomez.

There will soon be another patch on those uniforms, in memory of Adenhart, the victim of a tragic hit-and-run accident in Fullerton, Calif., in the wee minutes of Thursday.

The sudden and shocking development moved the Angels to cancel Thursday's night game, the finale of a four-game series with Oakland. Makeup plans will be announced later.

Into that third-floor room, media members, club officials and Fullerton police and fire department officers filed in with long faces and vacant eyes. They were there to discuss the 12:24 a.m. accident that took three lives and left a fourth in critical condition, and to reminisce about an exceptional 22-year-old.

As Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president of communications said in opening the proceedings, "It is with deep regret that we are having this press conference."

Of all the sad, thoughtful and poignant sentiments that ensued, nothing spoke louder of Adenhart's effect than the eyes of agent Scott Boras, which weren't vacant but wet.

Looking completely distraught when his turn to speak came, Boras took several deep breaths before saying, "Nick's parents, Jim and Janet, wanted me to convey to the entire Angels organization ... "

Then the tough-as-steel agent broke down, audibly sobbing before again collecting himself to say through quivering lips, "He was a great kid. His life goal was to be a big league baseball player. He'd summoned his father [on Tuesday], telling him 'You better come [to Wednesday's game]. Something special's going to happen.'"

Something special did: Adenhart blanked the Oakland A's for six innings of what turned out to be an Angels loss.

"After the game," Boras said, "he was so elated. It was tremendous fun. A great moment for all of us, seeing a young man take a huge step."

A couple of hours after that 6-4 loss, the Angels suffered a loss much more painful and lasting. A van driven by Andrew Thomas Gallo, a 22-year-old Riverside resident, ran a red light at the Fullerton intersection of Lemon and Orangethorpe and slammed the two-door Eclipse in which Adenhart was a passenger, hurtling it against a telephone pole.

Active player deaths since 1990
Player	Team	Died
Nick Adenhart	Angels	4/9/2009
Steve Bechler	Orioles	2/17/2003
Tim Crews	Indians	3/23/1993
Mike Darr	Padres	2/15/2002
Josh Hancock	Cardinals	4/29/2007
Joe Kennedy	Blue Jays	11/23/2007
Darryl Kile	Cardinals	6/22/2002
Cory Lidle	Yankees	10/11/2006
Steve Olin	Indians	3/22/1993
Dernell Stenson	Reds	11/5/2003

Adenhart was pulled from the wreckage by Fullerton Fire Dept. rescuers and transported within 15 minutes to University of California-Irvine Medical Center, where he was soon pronounced dead. Courtney Stewart, the 20-year-old driver of the vehicle, and another unidentified 27-year-old male passenger were declared dead at the scene.

"An absolutely horrible tragedy," said Lt. Kevin Hamilton, in charge of the traffic bureau for the Fullerton Police Dept. and lead investigator on the case.

Hamilton said Gallo would be booked on DUI, vehicular manslaughter and murder charges, but the eventual charges he will face will be up to the District Attorney. Gallo's arraignment is scheduled for Monday.

Gallo has a history of arrests for driving under the influence. While withholding specifics, Hamilton said his blood-alcohol reading was above the minimum. The officer also said Gallo was driving with a license suspended due to his DUI infractions.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins and manager Mike Scioscia sat stone-faced behind that third-floor table in sharing their memories of Adenhart.

"He was a privilege to be around. He grew as much in four years as anyone I've ever known," said Scioscia. "I can't tell you how proud I was of the great progress he made. He had arm surgery before throwing his first pitch in professional ball, so his family should be very proud."

As head of the Angels' Minor League system prior to his ascension to GM in he winter of '07, Reagins had a special relationship with Adenhart.

"He had a great energy, but didn't show it," Reagins said. "He was very poised; nothing ever seemed to faze this kid.

"He was a tremendous player, and a tremendous person who impacted the other players and the coaching staff in a very positive way. Disbelief is prevalent; we're all in shock. We will deeply miss him; it's difficult to express how much."

Although Thursday night's game is off, the entire roster will convene in its Angel Stadium locker, with Scioscia holding a meeting to begin the healing process.

"We'll have everyone together," Scioscia said, "and start to move forward. And we'll focus on supporting Nick's family."

Wednesday's start was Adenhart's fourth in the bigs. He went 1-0, with an ERA of 6.00. In four Minor League seasons, one at each rung of the ladder, the 14th-round 2004 Draft choice went 37-28 with an ERA of 3.87.

But ERA is not the most compelling acronym of Nick Adenhart's legacy. It is RIP.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Too bad the asshole that killed Adenhart didn't buy his booze and drink at home instead

Too bad he didn't grab a bottle of antifreeze instead of alcohol. Then there'd be one dead instead of 3.

Baseball-reference.com already lists him as dead