By Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Apr 07, 2008 at 4:03 PM
After an exciting, encouraging opening weekend at Miller Park, the Brewers announced some sad news this afternoon.

Mike Bonan, a 22-year-old Wauwatosa resident who worked in the visitor's clubhouse, died of injuries suffered in an auto accident early Saturday morning.

According to authorities, Bonan was traveling eastbound on I-94 early Saturday morning when his car struck a median wall. He got out of his car to check for damage and was struck by another car driven by a 21-year-old Milwaukee woman, who was not injured.

Bonan suffered massive head injuries in the accident and never regained consciousness. His organs were donated. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Bonan was entering his third season in the visitor's clubhouse, where he worked under the supervision of Phil Rozewicz, the visiting clubhouse manager.

Clubhouse attendants, known as "clubbies," handle virtually everything that goes on in the locker room. They do laundry, clean spikes, stock supplies, run errands for players and are part of the fabric of baseball.

Bonan, with his easy-going personality, was popular with players and his peers, who seemed devastated after the accident this weekend.

"Mike was a soft-spoken young man who was very dedicated to his work at the Brewers, but what I will remember most is that he never failed to smile, regardless of what was happening around us," Rozewicz said.

"To lose someone at such a young age is extraordinarily hard to comprehend, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family as we all go through this very difficult time."

A Brewers spokesman said the team will likely observe a moment of silence before the game Tuesday night against Cincinnati.

"We are a very close family here at the Brewers, and we are all taking this news very hard," Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said. "Many of our players and staff knew Mike very well, and we are deeply saddened by this tragic development."

Drew Olson Special to OnMilwaukee.com

Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.