Former WNCC baseball player, Miami-Dade police officer killed while on duty

Gonzalez played for Cougars from 2004-05

For the complete story, visit the Miami Herald Newspaper at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1099398.html

Former Western Nebraska Community College baseball player Giovanni Gonzalez was killed in an automobile accident on Tuesday in Miami.

Gonzalez, 23, was a Miami-Dade police officer. He died after his police car collided with a dump truck on Florida’s Turnpike. Rescuers worked to free Gonzalez, who was trapped in the wreckage. But by the time they pulled him out, it was too late. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Miami police continue to investigate the accident.

Gonzalez played baseball at WNCC during the 2004-05 season.

WNCC baseball coach Mike Jones remembers Gonzalez as a student-athlete that everyone enjoyed being around.

“As a person, he was awesome. He was a great individual and he was a very, very hard-working individual,” Jones said. “He was a little bit undersized for a college baseball guy, but he made up for his size with his big heart.”

After returning home to Miami, Gonzalez coached high school baseball before graduating from the police academy.

“It is terrible. It is tragic. It is tough for all of us,” Jones said. “There have been a lot of phone calls and text messages going on with between everybody that has been involved with Giovanni and our program. He was a great teammate and a great individual to have in the program.”