The lifeless bodies of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and his two friends smelled strongly of alcohol, according to divers who recovered them from the site of a tragic boat crash in September.
A search warrant affidavit obtained Wednesday by the Miami Herald also says investigators found evidence the boat driver’s high-speed “recklessness’’ was “exacerbated by the consumption of alcohol.” It is not known who among Fernandez and buddies Emilio Macias and Eduardo Rivero was piloting the boat.
Toxicology tests and autopsy results for the three young men have been completed, but have yet to be released.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the crash, according to the Herald, under the possible crimes of Boating Homicide While Intoxicated and Vessel Homicide, though the affidavit lists no living suspects.
Fernandez spent some of his final moments at the American Social Bar & Kitchen, according to TMZ. He was seen at the waterside hotspot at approximately 2 a.m. on Sept. 25. Fish and Wildlife investigators said they found a receipt for a bar tab from the restaurant in the pocket of one of the three men, who is not named.
The three men were killed when their boat — “Kaught Looking,” which belonged to Fernandez — collided with a jetty off Miami Beach sometime before 3:15 a.m.
Fernandez had asked Marlins teammates, including outfield Marcell Ozuna, to go out with him that night, but they each declined the fateful invitation.
The 24-year-old Fernandez, a mega-talented and energetic right-hander, was remembered in a heart-wrenching series of memorials during the final week of the MLB season. His girlfriend is due to give birth to his child in February.