Jose Fernandez Was Driving Boat in Fatal Crash, Investigation Concludes

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has concluded its investigation into the boat crash last September in which Jose Fernandez and two of his friends –Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25 — died.

The Miami Herald reports that investigators have concluded that Fernandez was behind the wheel:

"Investigators made the conclusion because the physical damage to Fernandez’s body matched the damage on the boat’s center console. His DNA was also found on the throttle and steering wheel. The boat, investigators concluded, was traveling at more than 65 miles per hour — just over the top speed of the vessel. “Fernandez operated [the boat] with his normal faculties impaired, in a reckless manner, at an extreme high rate of speed, in the darkness of the night, in an area with known navigational hazards such as rock jetties and channel markers,” the report concluded."

According to the Herald, Fernandez’s attorney had maintained that the former Marlins pitcher was on the phone, yelling at the driver to keep away from the shore, during the time of the crash.

In October, the Associated Press reported that Fernandez had cocaine in his system and a blood alcohol content of 0.147 the night of the fatal accident.

It goes without saying that this all remains profoundly sad and tragic.