Former major league pitcher Tyson Brummett was killed Friday when the plane he was piloting crashed in rural Utah, authorities said. He was 35.
Brummett, who pitched one game for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012, crashed shortly after taking off from the South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The passengers were identified as Alex Blackhurst Ruegner, 35, Elaine W. Blackhurst, 60, and her husband Douglas Robinson Blackhurst, 62, the Sheriff’s Office said. All three were from Riverton, Utah. Brummett was from Salt Lake City.
The Phillies released a statement Saturday, writing that the organization “sends heartfelt condolences to the family of and friends of former pitcher Tyson Brummett, along with three members of the Ruegner and Blackhurst families, who tragically passed away in a plane crash yesterday morning.”
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 4, 2020
Gregg Rawlings told WPVI he was hiking with his sons in the area and witnessed the crash.
”As it got closer and closer, it started to make a strong right-hand turn and, coming out of that turn, the wings seemed to go back and forth a little bit,” Rawlings told the television station. “But it dipped to the right again and the plane went into a downward corkscrew motion.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Brummett had been a certified flight instructor since January.
Brummett was drafted three times, twice by the San Francisco Giants (2003 and 2004) and once by the Phillies, according to Bleacher Report. He was drafted by Philadelphia in the seventh round of the 2007 draft out of UCLA.
After playing four seasons in the minors, Brummett made his only major league appearance on Oct. 3, 2012, in the Phillies’ season finale. He struck out two and allowed two hits in two-thirds of an inning in relief during a 5-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
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