Friday, March 29, 2024
 
Circumstances of Pitcher’s Death in Boat Accident Suggest Youthful Late-night Impulse

MIAMI Sept. 27 (DPI) – Early reports after the boating accident that killed Jose Fernandez said the star pitcher and two friends were out on a late-night – and alcohol-free – fishing trip, but details now emerging suggest an impulsive hop in a speed boat after hanging out until 2am at Miami Beach bar.

There’s still a lot that doesn’t make sense about the crash that killed the talented All-Star pitcher and his friends, an incident that shocked the baseball community and had a nearly real-time immediacy thanks to today’s ultra-connected world.  The accident and his death were reported barely hours later. Friends the world over knew of his death by 6am.

The latest reports suggest that the 24-year-old pitcher was emotional and agitated about something while at the bar, and one of his friends convinced him to take a spin the speedboat. The crash occurred about 3am Sunday on a prominent jetty bordering a major access to the Port of Miami.  It’s believed that the speedboat, piloted by one of Fernandez’s friends, hit the jetty at a super-fast 60-65 mph.

Just a few days earlier Fernandez proudly announced on social media that his girlfriend was pregnant.

Some speculated that the 24-year-old Fernandez, who defected from Cuba with his mother when he was a young teen, and whose early success as a Major League pitcher led to some predicting a Hall of Fame career, was helping his fellow Cubans with late-night ocean deliveries of one form or another. But that theory lost traction after it was learned what occurred in the hours leading up to the boat outing and crash.  Now it appears that Fernandez and his friends were the victims of youthful impulse, bad judgement – and bad luck.

 

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