Disturbing but unverified details have emerged about the death of Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura.
A story in the Spanish-language site Pio Deportes said that journalist Euri Cabral reported that Ventura "was carrying items such as cash, garments that included his World Series ring and other valuable items, which were stripped" after the crash.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore told The Star's Vahe Gregorian that he's aware of the report but did not comment further on it. It's known by the Royals that Ventura's mother, Marisol, seeks an investigation.
Yordano Ventura's grandfather talked to Pio Deportes and said details were not clear about what had happened after Ventura's Jeep crashed, but asked the authorities to investigate further.
"We have no sign of how it all was. We want a clarification by the National Police. We are not very clear about that, we would like it to be thoroughly investigated," Raul Hernandez said.
The site Ensegundo reported that Cabral said Ventura "was found alive, but several people assaulted him instead of helping him, after suffering the fatal accident at kilometer 14 of the road Juan Adrian."
Jacobo Mateo Moquete, a public information officer for the Commission on Military and Police for the Department of Public Works, told the Dominican radio station Zol 106.5 FM on Tuesday that Dominican National Police officers, community members and local police were already present when his team arrived at the Ventura crash scene Sunday.
Someone in the scrum identified the vehicle as Ventura's, sparking phone calls to the player's family members and friends. For a brief moment, it was believed that a friend of Ventura's was the victim of the crash.
Because Mateo Moquete's unit doesn't have a direct connection _ his department is an auxiliary branch of the Department of Public Works _ to the area of the country in which the crash occurred, he did not spearhead the team that has been investigating the wreck. Details from the autopsy will have to come from local police.
"It's tragic that something of this magnitude happened," Mateo Moquete said. "But whether or not he was robbed, I don't have information to establish that."
Mateo Moquete revealed Tuesday morning that, per a conversation with the friend who identified Ventura's body, Ventura's Jeep was last seen at the hotel in San Jose de Ocoa around 4 a.m. Sunday. It wasn't until about 6:30 a.m. that a crowd had begun to assemble at the crash scene.
The approximate time it would take to travel from San Jose de Ocoa, where Ventura attended Patronales 2017, to Juan Adrian, where he was found, is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez posted on Twitter about the robbery report late Monday night, and said he was appalled.
Those posts are translated as:
How outrageous to know that a life like Yordano's could have been saved had it not been that they looted him the way he was looted
Now it is more painful to know that Yordano remained alive after the accident and instead of someone to help him, they robbed him and let him die.
I hope an investigation will be carried out, because if there is any specific evidence of this, I would feel a great deal of shame for my country.
