Miami (AFP) – Florida Marlins star pitcher Jose Fernandez had cocaine in his system and was legally drunk when he died in a September boating accident, according to a toxicology report released Saturday.
The 24-year-old Cuban-born Major League Baseball standout’s blood alcohol level was 0.147, almost twice the legal limit of .08, and he also had detectable levels of cocaine, the autopsy and toxicology reports released by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Fernandez and two friends — Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25 — were killed early on September 25 after their 32-foot boat hit a jetty off Miami’s South Beach at high speed. The overturned vessel, discovered by the US Coast Guard, was owned by Fernandez but the reports do not say who was piloting the ship when it crashed.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigating the crash had said it could not release the documents because of an active criminal investigation, but Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered the release Saturday.
“Because our role in this matter is complete and Fish and Wildlife has the responsibility to prove an active criminal investigation, I have directed the Medical Examiner to fulfill public records requests for the autopsy and toxicology report,” said Gimenez.
Fernandez died as a result of the crash impact and not drowning, according to authorities.
The findings also showed Fernandez’s two companions had alcohol in their systems but neither was legally drunk. Cocaine was also found in Rivero’s blood, according to the toxicology report.
Fernandez was a rising star in baseball and popular in south Florida after escaping Communist-governed Caribbean island Cuba with his family as a child and growing up in the United States.
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