Pirates' Oneil Cruz Cooperating with Authorities After Involvement in Car Crash

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Oneil Cruz is cooperating with authorities in connection to a crash in his native Dominican Republic.

According to Dominican paper Diario Libre (via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Cruz was driving a Jeep in the opposite direction of a motorcycle carrying three people. The vehicles collided, and the report notes the three people on the motorcycle died as a result of the crash.

Cruz's agent, Rafa Nieves, told Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic the 21-year-old shortstop is "fine" and "good" but declined to go into any specifics about the accident.

Mackey spoke to a source who said alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash.

He also shared a statement from Pirates senior vice president of communications Brian Warecki: "The Pirates are aware of the tragic accident in the Dominican Republic involving Oneil Cruz. We have been in contact with Oneil and he is cooperating fully with the local authorities. We will provide an update as more information becomes available."

Pittsburgh acquired Cruz in July 2017 from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the Tony Watson trade. MLB.com ranks him as the franchise's third-best prospect behind Nick Gonzales and Ke'Bryan Hayes.