The players Luis Valbuena and José Castillo died in a traffic accident in the state of Yaracuy. Both players, with experience in the Major Leagues, played with the Cardinals Lara team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and they were precisely heading to Barquisimeto after the game they played this Thursday against the Leones in the city of Caracas.
Jose Castillo hit three hits in four at-bats, including a home run, with three RBIs and two runs scored in that his last game, while Valbuena went 4-1.
The tragic traffic accident instantly ended the lives of both, confirmed two sources close to the players. Both players left the University Stadium and the accident occurred in the La Morita sector, on the road between Yaracuy and Barquisimeto, although the details are unknown.
A source informed, after 1:00 in the morning, that the police forces were still there, raising the sinister, where Carlos Rivero survived, although with some injuries as a result of the overturning. It was learned that the three involved in the accident were traveling in the car of Carlos Rivero, a white Toyota Fortuner truck, ESPN reported.
According to some local versions, the car was driven by the driver of Rivero, who did not manage to dodge a huge stone covered with cloths, placed on the road. A preliminary report from the authorities in the place assures that the rock was thrown to the road, a common modus operandi to perpetrate robberies on the highway.
The car, according to the unofficial version, went to the other side of the road. Castillo and Valbuena, who were traveling in the back without seat belts, were thrown from the truck by the impact.
The driver was able to get out alive. The Cardinals team confirmed the tragedy of both players ..
Valbuena starred in a solid season with the Cardinals with seven homers, 11 doubles and 22 RBIs. Castillo, a tireless shooter on the local ball, batted .265 and had also towed 22 runs for the twilight cause.
Both had been unobjectionable struts of the Larense team that is in the first place of the Venezuelan peloteril tournament.
-Abatido presumed involved in the death of Luis Valbuena and José Castillo:
This Friday a commission of the Force of Special Actions (FAES) of the Bolivarian National Police (PNB), killed Jose Abel Pacheco Arteaga, alias "El Mono", requested for homicide and at the same time involved in the overturning in which the players of the Cardinals of Lara, José Castillo and Luis Valbuena.
The subject was faced with a commission of officials while they performed a special operation in the sector La Negrita, in the Independencia municipality of the state of Yaracuy, where the two players died on Friday morning.
Dozens of Venezuelans made long queues on Saturday outside a chapel in the state of Lara to bid farewell to Luis Valbuena, the Major League player who died in a rollover on the highway with his teammate José Castillo.
Castillo's body had been transferred during the morning to another state in the central region of the country.
Valbuena, 33, and Castillo, 37, were companions of the Cardinals of Lara, in the winter league of Venezuela.
The two perished on Thursday night when their truck overturned while trying to evade an object placed on the road. The authorities explained that the criminals place or throw objects on the tracks in order to force the vehicles to brake in order to rob the occupants.
Dozens of Venezuelans made long queues on Saturday outside a chapel in the state of Lara to bid farewell to Luis Valbuena, the Major League player who died in a rollover on the highway with his teammate José Castillo.
The two perished on Thursday night when their truck overturned while trying to evade an object placed on the road. The authorities explained that the criminals place or throw objects on the tracks in order to force the vehicles to brake in order to rob the occupants.
According to the police, the antisocial kept in distress the neighbors of the area with a firearm and was one of the members of the band "El Mocho", which acts as road pirates.
-Venezolanos dismiss Luis Valbuena and José Castillo:
Dozens of Venezuelans made long queues on Saturday outside a chapel in the state of Lara to bid farewell to Luis Valbuena, the Major League player who died in a rollover on the highway with his teammate José Castillo.
Castillo's body had been transferred during the morning to another state in the central region of the country.
Valbuena, 33, and Castillo, 37, were companions of the Cardinals of Lara, in the winter league of Venezuela.
Goodbye to 2 Great of our Venezuelan ball, fly high horses, They will always be remembered in a big way!
JOSE CASTILLO AND LUIS VALVUENA