Frank Pastore, a Christian radio host and author of the 2010 memoir Shattered: Struck Down, But Not Destroyed, died Dec. 17—nearly a month after suffering serious head injuries from a motorcycle crash in Duarte, Calif. Pastore, 55, had been in a coma since the Nov. 19 accident.
"I just lost my beautiful husband," Pastore's wife, Gina Pastore, told the Inland Daily Bulletin. "But it's comforting to know he's home with the Lord now. People are calling in [to his radio show] and crying and mourning with us.
"I want to thank so many people for their outpouring of love and support," she added. "That's really helped to sustain our family during this difficult time."
Pastore sustained his injuries when his motorcycle was sideswiped by a car in the carpool lane on the 210 freeway, California Highway Patrol officials said.
A former Major League Baseball pitcher, Pastore was on his way home after his "The Frank Pastore Show" on Glendale, Calif.-based Christian radio station KKLA when the crash occurred, family members said.
His wife said he spoke about the fragility of life during a segment on his radio show the night he was in the crash.
"He mentioned on the air, he said that 'if I were to be killed on the freeway tonight and my body parts are all over the freeway, I'm not on the freeway because my soul and I would be with the Lord,' " she said. "He actually said that the night that it happened, not knowing that he would be hit on his motorcycle. Frank would want people to know that."
The driver of the car involved was not arrested or cited, said investigators, who concluded that the crash was an accident.
"I know that Frank is in heaven right now," Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., said on his Facebook page. "He was a faithful follower and servant of Jesus Christ. ... It's heaven's gain, but it is surely our loss. Frank Pastore was a man of God that used his platform, both as a former Major League Baseball pitcher and a radio personality, to point people to Jesus Christ. ... I will miss Frank, but I know I will see him again."
In Shattered, Pastore describes how an elbow injury ended his dream of getting "rich and famous" as a Cincinnati Reds pitcher. He also shares how the incident was part of his Christian testimony.
Pastore is survived by his wife; son, Frank Jr.; and daughter, Christina. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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