A 46-page report surfaced on Thursday morning claiming former Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was the “probable” operator of the boat that crashed in a jetty down in Miami killing himself and two friends back on September 25, 2016. Released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the report says Fernandez’s fingerprints and DNA were found on the steering wheel and throttle. They also concluded that where his body was found after being thrown from the boat suggests the same.
Had Fernandez survived, he would be facing multiple criminal charges including homicide and manslaughter.
Rescue crews found Fernandez’s body pinned between the boat and a boulder submerged under water. Jesus Macias and Eduardo Rivero, both found dead at the scene. Macias had been talking with the pregnant girlfriend of Fernandez, Maria Arias, earlier that night via text messages in which Arias told him to take care of Fernandez. The couple had been arguing and according to Arias, he had been drinking and wasn’t in a good state of mind.
An autopsy of Fernandez and Rivero concluded that they did, in fact, have cocaine and alcohol in their systems at the time of the accident between “15 minutes to 2 hours of most recent use,” per the report.
The three friends left at 2:42 AM and the crash occurred 20 minutes later around 3:02 AM.
Fernandez was just 24 years old. He was drafted by the Marlins in the first round of the 2011 Amateur Draft and spent four seasons at the MLB level from 2013-2016.
He amassed a stellar 38-17 record, 2.58 ERA, was the 2013 NL Rookie of the Year, and a two-time All Star. He also finished seventh in the NL Cy Young voting in 2016.
His final year was his best, finishing 16-8, 2.86 ERA, and 253 K’s in 182.1 innings for the Marlins.
Information in this article is per Yahoo Sports.
