The lawyer representing the estate of Jose Fernandez claims investigators may have planted evidence making it look like the Marlins pitcher was responsible when he and two others were killed off the coast of Miami Beach in a 2016 boat crash, WPLG in Miami reports.
The Tampa Bay area native was cited as the one responsible for the crash by FWC after the vessel rammed a jetty, killing all three people on board.
Their report said his DNA was found on the steering wheel and the throttle, and his fingerprint was lifted from the steering wheel.
The report also said there was no evidence found to indicate either of the other two people on board were operating the boat.
Attorney Ralph Fernandez (no relation) reportedly filed a document in court this week claiming the evidence was tampered with to make it appear as though Jose Fernandez was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
The attorney is representing the estate in two wrongful death lawsuits filed by the families of the other passengers.
He says "inexperienced" FWC employees mishandled the case.
The boat was on a jetty, so the Coast Guard notified Miami-Dade police, which turned the investigation over to the FWC.
According to WPLG, Fernandez wrote the following in the document:
"The law enforcement investigation that led to the incident report and the conclusions reached therein was fraught with false statements of fact, implicated practically unheard of destruction of evidence and included references to evidence that never existed."
Ralph Fernandez also reportedly said in the document that Jose Fernandez had tested positive for cocaine and alcohol use because he and Rivero were "unwitting recipients of a spiked drink or a mickey of sorts." Ralph Fernandez theorized that Jose Fernandez and Rivero were drugged as part of a robbery scheme and that the crash may have been caused by "foul play."
He also said the fact that no drug paraphernalia or residue was found at the crash site supports his argument.
