Juan Lara

509+2⁄3 innings. Lara became a free agent at the end of the 2008 season.

Accident

Lara was involved in a serious automobile accident on the night of November 24, 2007, in his homeland of the Dominican Republic. His car was struck at an intersection by a motorcycle. Both occupants of the motorcycle were killed instantly, while Lara was taken to a Dominican Republic hospital with life-threatening injuries, including broken ribs, a broken D2 vertebra and possible brain damage. His injuries were considered to be possibly career-ending. ^[1]

On March 12, 2008, Lara was released from the Indians' 40-man roster; he was subsequently re-signed to a minor league contract despite the fact that he was to miss the entire 2008 season. The Indians organization will handle all of Lara's medical expenses. ^[2]

After wearing a halo vest to support his neck and surgeries on his spine and arms, Lara reported to the Indians' training camp on March 31, 2009. ^[3] He made 15 appearances for the rookie-level AZL Indians, posting an 0-1 record and 4.24 ERA with 19 strikeouts across 17 innings pitched. Lara elected free agency following the season on November 9.

References

1. Mailbag: Sizing up the Central
2. Indians make certain Lara stays
3. Lara Returning After Near Fatal Accident ESPN, March 31, 2009

External links

• Career statistics from MLB  ·  Baseball Reference  ·  Baseball Reference (Minors)  ·  Retrosheet
• Tribe's Lara Still in Critical Condition

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

Juan Lara
Relief pitcher
Born: (1981-01-26) January 26, 1981 (age 44) Azua, Dominican Republic
Batted: Right Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 8, 2006, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 6, 2007, for the Cleveland Indians