Baseball Player Dies in Boat Crash Days After Posting Picture of His Pregnant Girlfriend on Instagram

Jose Fernandez

Miami Marlins pitcher José Fernández, 24, who defected from Cuba at 15 and went on to become one of baseball’s brightest stars, was killed early Sunday in a boating accident.

Fernandez and two other people died when their 32-foot vessel slammed into a jetty off Miami Beach.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew on routine patrol discovered a 32-foot center-console SeaVee fishing vessel overturned shortly after 3:15AM (07:15 GMT) with two bodies underneath and another in the water nearby. The other two individuals, both males in their 20s, were friends of Fernández and not professional athletes.

Divers recovered two bodies under the boat, and a third victim was found on the rocks. The names of the two other victims – also in their 20s – are being withheld until relatives are notified.

Lorenzo Veloz, an official from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told reporters that the boat appeared to have been traveling at full speed when it struck a jetty and capsized. There was no immediate evidence that alcohol or illegal drugs were a factor in the crash. None of the three on board was wearing a life vest.

Fernandez had posted a photo of his pregnant girlfriend last week with the caption:

“I’m so glad you came into my life. I’m ready for where this journey is gonna take us together. #familyfirst”

RIP Fernandez.

Photo Credit: Instagram/jofez16