A deadly roof collapse in the Dominican Republic has claimed the life of a former pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Detroit Tigers.
ESPN reported that Octavio Dotel was among 44 people killed when the roof of a popular nightclub collapsed early Tuesday morning in his hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
He was 51.
The collapse took place during a merengue concert at the Jet Set nightclub at around 1 a.m. local time. The Dominican National Police reported to ESPN that Dotel was pulled alive from the wreckage, but his condition deteriorated and he died at a local hospital.
Dotel was a relief pitcher who played for 13 MLB teams during his 14-year career, having been drafted by the New York Mets in 1993 as an amateur free agent. He made his big-league debut in 1999.
Among his early career highlights was pitching a combined no-hitter in 2003 with the Houston Astros.
Dotel became a Blue Jay in 2011 by signing a one-year free-agent contract. While in Toronto, he won his 50th career game before being traded in July to the St. Louis Cardinals, where he helped them win a World Series title.
In 2012, Dotel signed with the Detroit Tigers and helped them reach the Series that season. He started the 2013 season in Detroit before being shut down by injuries. He retired in 2014.
His personal life was marred by tragedy. Dotel's father was murdered in the Dominican Republic in 1993. In 2019, Dotel was arrested on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. He was cleared, but at the time of his death, he was still facing an illegal weapons charge related to the 2019 incident.
