A minor league player was wanted in a fatal hit-and-run, but a discovery at his own training complex led to his arrest

Jonathan Matos Morales, an 18-year-old minor league baseball player, is facing charges following a fatal hit-and-run crash in Manatee County, Florida. The incident occurred on Monday at 6:28 AM, leading to the death of 34-year-old Stavan Albert Facey.

According to Daily Mail, the Florida Highway Patrol released dashcam footage on Tuesday that helps clarify exactly what happened on I-75 that morning. The video shows a 2022 black Ford Mustang driving aggressively, weaving in and out of traffic. The Mustang passes a semi-truck on the right shoulder before cutting across to the left side of the highway.

When the driver encounters brake lights, they attempt to maneuver back to the right, which causes a collision with an SUV. This impact forced the SUV into the semi-truck, causing the truck to flip onto its side. While the Mustang paused briefly behind the wreckage, it ultimately sped away from the scene.

Fleeing to your own training facility was a terrible escape plan

Facey, who was driving the semi-truck, was pronounced dead at the scene. FHP spokesman Ken Watson explained that the truck driver had no chance to avoid the collision. He noted, “Driving a vehicle like that high profile, early in the morning and with a full load obviously they can’t stop on a dime.” The driver of the SUV, a 63-year-old man, fortunately suffered only minor injuries.

The investigation into the identity of the driver took a turn when the Atlanta Braves organization spotted the suspected vehicle at their spring training facility, CoolToday Park, in Venice. The team had signed Morales to their farm system just nine months earlier in July. “The Atlanta Braves organization contacted the Florida Highway Patrol advising they may have found that vehicle within their complex. Advising they felt 99.9-percent sure that they had the vehicle,” Watson said.

Troopers were dispatched to the park, where they worked with the team’s legal staff to confirm the vehicle’s identity and arrest Morales. Following the arrest, the Braves confirmed that Morales is no longer part of their organization. The team described him as “formerly signed” to their system. “Our organization is cooperating fully with authorities and will not have any further comment at this time. Our condolences go to the loved ones of all who were involved,” the statement read.

Morales has since been released from jail after posting a $200,000 bond. As part of his supervised release, he was instructed to surrender his passport. His attorney had requested a lower bond, arguing that Morales had no prior legal trouble. However, the State Attorney’s Office pointed to an October speeding citation where Morales was caught driving 81mph in a 50mph zone.

Morales, who was born in Puerto Rico and has been a US citizen since the age of 10, had been assigned to the rookie-level Florida Complex League before later taking an assignment to play for Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros de Santurce in November. The impact of this crash on the victim’s family is immense. Stavan Albert Facey was a father of four, and his partner, Kimberly Johnson, has started a GoFundMe campaign to assist with funeral costs and childcare for their two children, who are both under the age of three.

This tragedy reminds us of the heavy toll such incidents take, much like when a former LSU star took his own life after a deadly hit-and-run accusation. “I never imagined I would be in this position. I am a single mother of two beautiful children, both under the age of three, and recently our lives were turned upside down by an unimaginable loss,” Johnson wrote online.

“The father of my children, my partner, passed away suddenly in a horrific accident, leaving us heartbroken and struggling to find our way forward.”