Former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Tyson Brummett died in a plane crash Friday morning. He was 35 years old. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the news and provided further details about the incident in American Fork Canyon.
According to the sheriff’s report, Brummett was piloting the small plane at the time of the incident. It crashed into the Wasatch Mountains outside Salt Lake City, killing all four passengers. Authorities identified the victims as Brummett, his friend Alex Ruegner (35), and Ruegner’s uncle and aunt, Douglas (62) and Elaine Blackhurst (60). Brummett was from Salt Lake City while the other three passengers were from Riverton.
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ABC reports that a man and two of his sons were hiking early on Friday morning. They saw the plane begin to turn before spiraling downward. The witness said that he lost sight of the plane but heard the impact moments later. The witness hiked further in order to make the call to 911. He then climbed down to the plane and verified that Brummett and the other occupants died on impact.
“They verified that there were four occupants onboard the plane and all four appeared to have died on impact,” the authorities said in the press release. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration accompanied authorities to the scene of the crash. The organizations will investigate the incident and determine a cause.
“The Phillies organization sends heartfelt condolences to the family 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,” the team’s statement read. Brummett is the third former Phillies pitcher to die in a plane crash since 2006. Roy Halladay died in November 2017 when his plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and Cory Lidle flew into a New York apartment complex in October 2006.
A former member of the UCLA Bruins baseball team, Brummett landed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a seventh-round pick in the 2007 MLB Draft. He proceeded to spend 2007 and 2008 on the lower levels of the team’s farm system. He moved on to Minor League Baseball in 2009 and remained there until 2012. He posted a 14-30 win-loss record over 121 games and made 30 starts.
Brummett appeared in one game for the Phillies on Oct. 3, 2012. He faced the Washington Nationals during the final game of the season and gave up singles to the first two batters he faced. He struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Following his one-game stint with the Phillies, Brummett played in the minors for both the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He also played for Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Winter League during the 2011 and 2012 offseasons.
