In February 1992, Quintana was involved in an automobile accident in town of Tacarigua de Mamporal, Venezuela while rushing his two brothers to a hospital after they were shot at a party. In the accident, Quintana broke his left arm and his right big toe and his wife Solys broke both of her legs. The injuries caused Quintana to miss the entire 1992 season.
Quintana returned to the Red Sox for the 1993 season but was still feeling the effects of the accident, including loss of feeling in his left thumb. He lost the starting first base position to Mo Vaughn and at the end of the season he announced his retirement from MLB baseball