Kevin Steen (3) and Jaylin Henderson (2) are pictured playing basketball for the Oak Ridge Wildcats against Dobyns-Bennett in March 2014. (File photo by Ned Jilton II/Kingsport Times News)
Kevin Steen, a Boston Red Sox pitching prospect from Oak Ridge, was critically injured in a car crash in Florida late Wednesday night, according to the Red Sox and a CBS affiliate in Boston.
Steen was taken to a southwest Florida hospital, identified as Lee Memorial Hospital, in critical condition following the crash.
“The thoughts and prayers of the entire Red Sox organization are with minor league player Kevin Steen, who sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Florida last night,” the Red Sox said in a statement on Thursday morning. “The club will update his condition at the appropriate time.”
News reports said another car veered over a median and struck the SUV that Steen, 20, was driving. CBS Boston said the striking vehicle went airborne before crashing into Steen’s SUV. That striking vehicle caught fire, and the driver died on the scene, CBS Boston said.
The Red Sox selected the right-handed Steen in the ninth round of the 2014 draft. He has pitched 30 games in the minor leagues over the past three seasons, with 26 of them starts.
CBS said the crash occurred around 11:46 p.m. Wednesday.
You can read the CBS story here. You can see the statement from the Red Sox here.
Steen was the 284th pick in the three-day, 40-round First-Year Player Draft of 2014, which had more than 1,200 selections.
He was one of of four right-handers picked by the Red Sox on Day 2 of the draft, with only one selection coming straight from high school. He had signed by July 2014.
Steen also played basketball for the Oak Ridge Wildcats and helped lead the team to a state championship game in March 2014, when Oak Ridge finished as state Class AAA runner-up.
“Prayers for Kevin Steen,” Oak Ridge Wildcats basketball coach Aaron Green said on Facebook. “One of the best kids I’ve ever coached!”
“All of our thoughts and prayers (are) with former baseball Wildcat and current Boston Red Sox minor league player Kevin Steen and family,” the Oak Ridge Wildcats baseball team said on Twitter.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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