Oct 12, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Oscar Taveras (18) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the 7th inning in game two of the 2014 NLCS playoff baseball game at Busch Stadium.
Oct 12, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Oscar Taveras (18) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the 7th inning in game two of the 2014 NLCS playoff baseball game at Busch Stadium. REUTERS

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a state of shock after being handed the news that their young prospect and outfielder Oscar Taveras passed away after being involved in a vehicular accident in his home country, Dominican Republic. The baseball slugger was headed to his hometown of Sousa with his 18-year old girlfriend Edilia Arvelo when they both perished in the fatal crash.

The loss of Taveras is a big stunner to the team particularly to Taveras' current and former teammates who expressed grief and shock when they were handed the news. One of those teammates is San Francisco Giants and reserve outfielder Juan Perez. Perez, who was a teammate of Taveras in the national team of the Domincan Republic, heard the news during the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series between the Giants and the Royals and was so stunned that he broke down into tears according to Giants hitting coach Hensley Meulens. The Cardinals, for its part, also spoke at length of the loss of their player and offered their sympathies with the family of their outfielder.

"We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family," Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said in a statement reported by USA Today Sports. "Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight."

Taveras was on board a 2014 Chevrolet Camara during the crash that occurred on the road between the beaches of Sousa and Cabaret in Puerto Plata, some 215 miles north of Santo Domingo. Col. Diego Pesquiera of the Metropolitan Transportation Agency revealed that they were not able to immediately identify his body since there were no documents with the driver and had to wait for family members to identify the Cardinals player. The Mayor of Sousa revealed to the authorities that Taveras careened off the road after losing control of the vehicle.

The Dominican Republic native made his professional debut for the Major League Baseball this year. He made three homers and 22 RBIs during his 80 games with the NL Central champions posting a .239. The teenage sensation was signed by the club way back 2008 and was even ranked as high as third overall prospect entering the season. He stayed for six years in the minors prior to his pro debut where he averaged a .321.