Former New York Mets prospect Darwyn Encarnacion died following a horrific car crash in the Dominican Republic this week.
He was just 21 years old.
According to MLB insider Hector Gomez, Encarnacion was driving an SUV on Wednesday when it tumbled off a bridge and crashed into a ditch below it.
The former outfielder, according to multiple reports, had somehow survived the initial impact, but died at a local hospital a short time later.
Conductor resulta herido tras accidentarse la yipeta marca Honda, modelo CRV, que conducía por la autopista Duarte, a su paso por el puente de Arenoso, en La Vega.#ElNuevoDiarioRD #AccidenteVial pic.twitter.com/tcN9dKo5aX
— El Nuevo Diario (@elnuevodiariord) June 15, 2022
A Mets academy executive in the Dominican Republic confirmed Encarnacion's tragic passing to Gomez ... saying, "He was a great human being, very disciplined, respectful and polite. He played with us for just one year, in 2019. He was even using his scholarship that the team gave him when he signed and was currently studying at university."
Encarnacion signed a minor league contract with the Mets in March 2019 ... and, a few months later, played for their Dominican Summer League team.
He logged 113 at-bats in 35 games ... tallying one home run, 10 steals and a .248 batting average. He was eventually released by the team in Oct. 2020.
RIP