Ichiro In Car Crash At Spring Training, But Yankees Star Is Unhurt
Ichiro was in a car crash in Tampa as his New York Yankees prepare for the start of the 2013 season, but the outfielder managed to avoid injury.
Ichiro was traveling south on a Tampa highway at close to 4 pm on Saturday in his Range Rover when he hit a woman who failed to yield the right of way, the New York Post noted. The other driver, Linda Trange Le, had turned directly in front of Ichiro in causing the crash, Tampa police said.
“He struck her,” Tampa Lt. Ronald McMullen told the Post. “She ended up hitting a third car, but there were no injuries.”
Though neither the woman nor Ichiro was hurt in the crash, the Yankees star did have to get his Range Rover towed. The crash took place on Dale Mabry Highway near Kennedy Boulevard in Tampa, which is less three miles from the ballpark.
Despite his all-star status, Ichiro wasn’t exactly given special treatment in the crash.
“The officer didn’t even know he played baseball,” McMullen told the Post. “He said, ‘I know the Rays but the Yankees?’ ”
Ichiro had been allowed to stay in Tampa while his teammates made the roughly 2 1/2-hour drive to Fort Myers on Sunday for the Yankees’ preseason game versus the Red Sox, the New York Daily News noted.
The Yankees are lucky that they did not lose any playing time for Ichiro in the crash. The team is already without right fielder Curtis Granderson, who broke his forearm and will be out for 10 weeks as he recovers.
