Pittsburgh Pirates prospect and Gigantes del Cibao shortstop, Oneil Cruz, 21, was the driver in a traffic accident on Monday night in the Dominican Republic in which three people died, according to a police report.
According to the report from the department of transit safety and ground transportation, or DIGESETT, by its Spanish acronym, Cruz was driving east on Sanchez highway between Baní and San Cristóbal, near Los Mercaditos de Paya community in Bani, when he struck a motorcycle in front of him with three people aboard.
According to the report, the motorcycle had no lights on of any kind. Cruz was detained by transit authorities on the scene.
No further details have been released in the preliminary investigation, but transit authorities told ESPN that both Cruz and the three on the motorcycle were traveling past the hour of the curfew established by the government of the Dominican Republic in response to the pandemic.
Should formal charges be brought against Cruz by the prosecutors in Bani or the families of the three who died, and should he be found responsible for the accident, Cruz would be subject to a sentence of up to three years in prison and a substantial fine.
Cruz is ranked as the No. 29 overall MLB prospect by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel.