College baseball player dies falling off motorized cart while interning at Cincinnati Open

An “incredible” college baseball player has died in a freak accident when he fell off a motorized cart while interning at the Cincinnati Open.

Joshua Darst, a senior at Cornerstone University, Michigan, was working as an intern at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Ohio when he fell off the cart near the loading dock area at around 11 p.m. Monday, WLWT reported.

The athlete, who attended the Grand Rapids-based private evangelical Christian university on a baseball scholarship, was rushed to the West Chester Hospital but died of his injuries, according to police.

His long-time pastor described him as an “incredible young man.”

“I met Josh when we first came here about 14 and a half years ago. He came up and stuck his little hand out, he was about seven years old, introduced himself,” said Brian McManus, pastor at Tri-County Baptist Church in West Chester, a northern suburb of Cincinnati.

“He was the very first person I ever baptized here,” McManus added, saying that he was “excited for where God was going to take him next” when he learned he was going to Cornerstone.

“Being exposed to that suddenness of death coming into people’s life is not new, but it’s new when it’s that close, that personal,” McManus told WCPO in a separate interview.

“I had just read a letter from somebody that he had worked with at the Open for only three weeks, and the profound impact that he had made on their life in just three weeks. Josh has an empathetic streak in his life that is about a mile wide,” he said.

“It was a heartbreak — it’s been a heartbreak to everybody in our church family,” McManus said.

Darst’s college, where he was set to start his senior year, shared an emotional tribute on Facebook.

“Our community is deeply saddened by the loss of Joshua Darst, a senior and cherished member of our baseball team, who tragically passed away this week,” the tribute read.

“Join us as we lift up his family, friends, and teammates in prayer during this difficult time. The university will honor Joshua during our first chapel service of the academic year when students return to campus next week.”

Darst’s parents plan to honor their son by setting up a baseball scholarship fund at Cornerstone University, McManus said.

“This loss is deeply felt by our entire organization. Our hearts, thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family, friends and all who knew and loved him,” the Cincinnati Open said in a statement provided to WLWT.

Police say Monday’s accident is still under investigation.