Angels' Nick Adenhart killed

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.

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.

Driver charged in Adenhart's death
Three counts of murder could lead to 55-year sentence

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

04/10/09 7:46 PM ET
The Orange County District Attorney has charged the driver of the minivan that killed Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others with three counts of murder, among a number of felony violations that could place him in prison for almost 55 years.

In addition to the three homicide charges, Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of San Gabriel, Calif., was charged with one felony count of fleeing the scene of a traffic collision involving death or permanent injury, one felony count of driving under the influence causing injury and one felony count of driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent (the legal limit in California) and causing bodily injury.

The charges were issued on Friday by the Superior Court of Orange County. Gallo is being held in lieu of a $1 million bond, pending his arraignment on Monday at the North Justice Center in Fullerton, Calif.

"As the District Attorney, over the years I have seen some heart-wrenching things," DA Tony Rackauckas said during a media conference. "They don't get much tougher than this. This Angel and his two friends were too young to be sent to heaven, but the defendant selfishly and recklessly got behind the wheel after getting drunk, and they didn't have a choice. Bad decision, blink of an eye, five lives ended, including the defendant's."

Adenhart was a passenger in a car struck by Gallo, who ran a red light in his Toyota Sienna minivan at 12:23 a.m. PT on Thursday. The others who died are driver Courtney Stewart, a 20-year-old Cal State Fullerton student and former Titans cheerleader, and Henry Pearson, a 25-year-old law student with dreams of becoming a sports agent. Jon Wilhite, a 24-year-old former player for the Titans baseball team, is in critical condition.

Adenhart had started for Los Angeles just a few hours earlier, pitching six shutout innings in a game the A's came back from a 4-0 deficit to win, 6-4, with three runs each in the eighth and ninth.

Gallo was charged with traveling at 65 mph in a 35-mph zone and with a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, Rackauckas said. He also fled the scene of the accident.

Gallo was convicted of driving under the influence nearly three years ago in San Bernardino County and was on probation when Thursday morning's crash occurred. As a result of the earlier conviction, he was ordered to attend an alcohol-education program.

"The defendant has acknowledged that he knew the dangers of drinking and driving based on his participation in this alcohol program," Rackauckas said. "By now, everyone should know if you drink and drive, you could potentially kill someone.

"Knowing that he had caused this crash, Mr. Gallo cowardly fled the scene on foot without checking on the welfare of those he had just hurt. Within 30 minutes of the collision, approximately two miles away, on the shoulder of the 91 freeway, he was apprehended by Anaheim Police Department. When contacted by the police, he again attempted to flee."

Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

I can't use the words that best describe Gallo on this forum


Though I could elsewhere

And believe me; they aren't any good ones

gs78 wrote:

I can't use the words that best describe Gallo on this forum


Though I could elsewhere

And believe me; they aren't any good ones

Just use the and I will add some more that help you represent the same feelings.