The death of an athlete is always a shock to the system. But, the death of a young person, athlete or otherwise, is downright devastating. The Orange County Register is reporting that 22-year-old Los Angeles Angels right-hander Nick Adenhart was among three killed in a traffic accident in Fullerton, Calif., early Thursday morning.

This was especially shameful, given that simple obedience of traffic laws could have prevented it. According to the OC Register, a 22-year-old man named Andrew Thomas Gallo ran a red light, struck Adenhart’s Mitsubishi, then attempted to flee the scene on foot.

A tragedy, to say, the least. Adenhart was killed hours after he threw six scoreless innings. Side-by-side, headlines on the OC Register’s Angels blog went from “Adenhart more poised second time around” to “Reports: Adenhart dead at 22.”

Adenhart was one of the Angels’ prized young pitchers, and he appeared to be turning the corner this spring when he went 3-0 with a 3.12 ERA. Adenhart was 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA in four career starts, including six scoreless innings in a no-decision Monday night.