A deadly 2020 crash involving Pirates star Oneil Cruz is receiving fresh scrutiny.

Cruz, a 21-year-old prospect at the time, allegedly rear-ended a motorcycle at high speed on a Dominican Republic highway, killing all three riders in an incident that independent outlet ProPublica reports was solved by paying off victims’ families with the help of a fixer.

Police, in a press release, claimed Cruz, the recipient of a $950,000 MLB contract from the Dodgers as a 16-year-old, had “consumed alcoholic beverages prior” to the early-morning crash that occurred on a poorly lit four-lane highway on the Dominican Republic’s southern coast — well beyond the country’s COVID-19 imposed curfew.”

Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz (15) tips his hat after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Prosecutors opened an investigation and sought to hold Cruz in “preventive detention” following the Sept. 21, 2020 deaths of Yohan Saba Mercado, 20, Deby Beato Charles, 20, and Daniela Perez Garcia, 19.

According to ProPrublica, Santo Caraballo, a local businessman with ties to former Red Sox star David Ortiz, “oversaw a campaign to persuade the families of the three victims to accept cash in return for signing documents withdrawing all ‘penal, civil or judicial’ claims against Cruz.”

Caraballo, who counted a legal services firm among his businesses, organized a legal team and began reaching out to victims’ families.

Mercado’s mother told ProPublica that on the day of the funeral, “after all the mourners left the house, a driver showed up holding out a phone. On the line was Cruz’s mother offering condolences — and wanting to negotiate.”

The total paid out to the families was $66,000, per the outlet.

Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz (15) high-fives in the dugout after scoring a run against the San Francisco Giants. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Garcia’s mother said she was tricked into signing a deal, partially by her son, who was working with Caraballo.

“Rich people, especially baseball players, like to pay for dead people with money,” she said. “I am poor, but I have honor.”

The Pirates, who acquired Cruz in a 2017 trade, told ProPublica the now 27-year-old outfielder “addressed this matter more than six years ago based on the information available and the outcome of the legal proceedings,” while his lawyer noted the Dominican court “issued an order of dismissal based on the findings, a legally binding decision that was a lawful resolution of this matter.”

Cruz made it to the big leagues in 2021, playing a pair of games for Pittsburgh, becoming a full-time major leaguer in the second half of 2022.

At 6-foot-7, he led the National League with 38 steals in 2025 and has a penchant for hitting gargantuan home runs.

He is playing this season on one-year, $3.3 million deal with two years of team control ahead of him before he’s eligible for free agency.