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Ex-Pitcher and Radio Host Frank Pastore Dies One Month After Motorcycle Crash He 'Predicted'
Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher and recent Christian talk radio host Frank Pastore died Monday of injuries he suffered one month ago in a motorcycle accident he "predicted" in a broadcast that same day.
The 55-year-old Pastore was California native who, in what would end up being his final show on KKLA 99.5-FM out of Glendale, spoke on air about the dangers he routinely faced as a motorcycle rider on L.A. freeways, according to City News Service.
Three hours prior to his accident, Pastore said during the 4 to 7 p.m. broadcast: "You guys know I ride a motorcycle, right? At any moment, especially with the idiot people who cross the diamond lane into my lane, without any blinkers -- not that I'm angry about it -- at any minute, I could be spread all over the 210."
At 7:30 that night, November 19, "Pastore was riding his Honda Shadow in the carpool lane of the 210 freeway when he was struck by a Hyundai Sonata in the lane next to him," explains the Hollywood Reporter. The crash sent Pastore to the hospital for head injuries from which he did not recover.
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Pastore's wife of 27 years, Gina, said her husband died Monday afternoon.
He was born in 1957, and excelled in baseball in his high school years. Pastore was drafted by the Reds in 1975, and was in Major League Baseball for the next decade. From the L.A. Times:
Pastore pitched for the Reds from 1979 through 1985 and for the Minnesota Twins in 1986. But his pitching career was derailed at Dodger Stadium in 1984, when a line drive by Dodger second baseman Steve Sax smashed the elbow of his pitching arm in a moment that "eternally changed my life," as he would later put it.
After leaving baseball, Pastore earned graduate degrees in theology and political science. His drive-time KKLA-FM program, which ran for eight years, was said to be the most-listened to Christian talk- show in the country.
Pastore is survived by his wife, their two adult children, and one grandchild. Funeral plans are pending.
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