Padres outfielder Matt Darr killed in crash

PHOENIX (AP) -- San Diego Padres outfielder Mike Darr was killed and a minor league pitcher was injured early Friday when the vehicle they were riding in rolled over on an interstate highway.

Darr, 25, was San Diego's opening-day center fielder in 2001, his first full big league season. He moved into the starting lineup after Ruben Rivera was released in spring training but eventually gave way to Mark Kotsay, who was obtained from Florida just before opening day.

Ben Howard, a 23-year-old pitcher who played for San Diego's Class-A and Double-A affiliates last season, was treated at the scene and released, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Frank Valenzuela said.

Another man in the vehicle -- 23-year-old Duane Johnson, of Reno, Nev. -- also was killed in the accident. He was believed to be a friend of Darr.

"He may be affiliated with the team but we are not sure yet," Valenzuela said. "We just know that he's not a player."

Last year, Darr made 24 starts in center field and 45 in right, where Tony Gwynn hardly played because of leg injuries.

Darr was good defensively but didn't have much power, hitting just two homers last year. However, both were game-winners in the Padres' last at-bat. He batted .277 with 34 RBIs.

Darr was the Padres' minor league player of the year in 1997 after being obtained from Detroit with another player for second baseman Jody Reed late in spring training that year.

In 2000, Darr shared the Padres' minor league player of the year award with Jeremy Owens. Darr hit .344 with 9 homers and 65 RBIs in 91 games with Triple-A Las Vegas.

He was recalled to the Padres on July 31. In his first game following the recall he hit the second pitch he saw for a two-run homer against Philadelphia. Darr also played in five games for San Diego in mid-April 2000 before returning to Triple-A.

The crash occurred about 2 a.m. MST (4 a.m. EST). The Padres hold spring training in nearby Peoria and Friday was the voluntary reporting date for pitchers and catchers to report.

Darr became the second player in the Padres organization to be killed in a car crash in less than year.

On July 29, minor league pitcher Gerik Baxter was killed near Indio, Calif., when a rear tire on his pickup blew out, causing the truck to swerve into another car and roll several times. Oakland Athletics draft pick Mark Hilde, a passenger in the truck, also died.

Valenzuela said Darr was the driver of the vehicle and it appeared the accident was alcohol related. The vehicle apparently drifted into the dirt center median, then the driver overcorrected, Valenzuela said.

It rolled across three lanes of the freeway and crashed through a fence, coming to rest on a frontage road.

Valenzuela said Darr and Johnson were not wearing seat belts and were ejected and killed while Howard was in the back seat and was wearing a seat belt.

Howard, a right-hander who was a second-round pick in the 1997 amateur draft, was 8-2 with a 2.83 ERA with Class A Lake Elsinore and 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA at AA Mobile.

He was selected to the California League All-Star team while with Lake Elsinore.