Angela Martinez, mother of Yordano Ventura's daughter, cries on the coffin during the funeral at the Municipal Baseball Stadium of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
(ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES/REUTERS)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, January 24, 2017, 10:10 PM
The family of Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura wants his death investigated amid reports that he was robbed and left for dead after a car crash in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities initially said Ventura was killed Sunday in a car crash.
But after a new report suggested he was attacked and robbed of his 2015 World Series ring and other valuables in the car before he died, his distraught family pleaded for authorities to open an investigation.
“We don’t have a clear signal of everything that happened,” Ventura’s grandfather Raul Hernandez told a local newspaper, Pio Deportes. “We want clarification from the national police.”
Royals fan on hospice care went to Yordano Ventura's memorial
Marisol Hernandez (center), the mother of Yordano Ventura, a Kansas City Royals baseball player who died in a car crash, stands among other relatives stands next to the coffin during the funeral at the Municipal Baseball Stadium of Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
(ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES/REUTERS)
According to Dominican journalist Euri Cabral, who works for Dominican FM radio show “El Sol de la Mañana,” Ventura was still alive after his white Jeep crashed in Juan Adrian, north of the capital Santo Domingo Sunday.
Ventura was found alive by various people, but instead of helping him, they attacked the pitcher, Cabral reported. Jacobo Mateo Moquete, whose Twitter account says he is a colonel with the National Police, couldn’t verify any robbery took place.
“It’s tragic that something of this magnitude happened,” Moquete said, according to a Kansas City Star report. “But whether or not (Ventura) was robbed, I don’t have information to establish that.”
“He wasn’t just a teammate or a friend,” Royals catcher Salvador Perez said of Yordano Perez (above). “He was a brother."
(Frank Franklin II/AP)
Hundreds of mourners, including several of the pitcher’s teammates, remembered Ventura’s life and career. His funeral procession made a stop at the baseball field where he played in his youth. Pall bearers placed his casket briefly at home plate.
Toxicology report may determine future of Yordano Ventura's $20 M
“He wasn’t just a teammate or a friend,” said Royals catcher Salvador Perez. “He was a brother. We’ve known him since he started playing for Kansas City. His moments aside, he had a big heart. It’s incredibly sad what we’re going through right now.”
