Former Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez was framed on the night he crashed his boat and killed three passengers on board, his lawyer claims.
The accident happened in 2016, when Fernandez and two passengers — Eduardo Riviera and Emilio Macias — were all killed after Fernandez supposedly crashed his boat into rocks during a high speed boat ride in the middle of the night.
Attorney for estate of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez says “someone slipped cocaine” into his drink before boat crash “to make it easy to steal $15,000 that Fernandez was carrying in his backpack” https://t.co/Rhpc5rYOgz h/t @MarcACaputo pic.twitter.com/20uNY5ACUb
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) April 4, 2018
The Florida Wildlife Commission concluded in 2017 that the three had been drinking before the crash and held Fernandez responsible for the death of his passengers. When his body was recovered, he tested positive for cocaine and alcohol.
Both Rivero and Macias’ families each filed a $2 million civil suit against Fernandez, but his lawyer is now fighting back.
Ralph Fernandez, who has no relation to Jose, filed paperwork today claiming there was no evidence of drug paraphernalia or drug use at the scene of the wreck. Fernandez also claims his late client may not have been driving the boat at the time of the crash.
“From the inception the case agents decided that Jose Fernandez was the operator and that his blood alcohol level would support the imaginary charges sufficiently so they intentionally failed to consider any evidence provided to them that Jose Fernandez and Eduardo Rivero were the victims of foul play, the two of them unwitting recipients of a spiked drink or a mickey of sorts,” the attorney said in a court filing, according to the Miami Herald.
He also added that Fernandez was carrying $15,000 in cash at the time of the crash, suggesting somebody could have purposefully drugged him and set him up in order to steal his money.
The law firm representing both Rivero and Macias’ estates disputes Fernandez’s claim, saying there’s “no evidence” to back up his “contention.”
It’s not clear where the case heads from here, but Fernandez is adamant that justice will be served.
“The facts speak for themselves,” he said on Tuesday night.
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