Lara seriously hurt in auto accident

CLEVELAND -- Indians pitcher Juan Lara was involved in a serious car accident Saturday night in his native Dominican Republic. Two people died in the accident, and Lara is being tended to in a Dominican hospital.

According to team spokesman Bart Swain, Lara was driving a sports utility vehicle and was stopped at an intersection in San Pedro de Macoris when a motorcycle traveling at a high speed slammed into the vehicle's passenger side. The two people riding the motorcycle died instantly, Swain said.

Lara, 26, was seriously injured in the accident and might need to be transported to the U.S. to have surgery performed. Swain could not provide further details as to the extent of Lara's injuries.

"We are monitoring his status very closely," Swain said, "and he is definitely in our prayers right now."

The accident occurred shortly after a game played by Lara's Winter League team, Estrellas de Oriente, which is based in San Pedro de Macoris.

Lara, a left-handed reliever, was signed by the Indians out of the club's Dominican Academy in 1999 and worked his way up through the club's Minor League system until making his big league debut in 2006. He made one appearance with the Tribe this season and spent most of the year at Triple-A Buffalo.