Jose Fernandez MIAMI, FL – SEPTEMBER 25: Flowers, a hat and the number of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez is shown on the pitching mound at Marlins Park on September 25, 2016 in Miami, Florida. Fernandez died in a boating accident. (Photo by Joe Skipper/Getty Images)

Former Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, killed in a boating accident last September, has been ruled responsible for the nautical accident in the coast of South Beach.

Via the Miami Herald:

“Fernandez operated [the boat] with his normal faculties impaired, in a reckless manner, at an extreme high rate of speed, in the darkness of the night, in an area with known navigational hazards such as rock jetties and channel markers,” the report concluded.

The same report from the Miami newspaper also notes Fernandez would have faced multiple charges had he survived the crash, including manslaughter, vessel homicide, and reckless or careless operation of a vessel.

The investigation also determined Fernandez was driving the boat while intoxicated. Toxicology reports determined Fernandez’s DNA was on the steering wheel and the physical damage to his body matched that of the boat’s center console.

The findings of the report contrast the beliefs of the Fernandez family since the night of the accident, and likely will be critical pieces of information in civil lawsuits previously filed by the families of the two other men killed in the boating accident. Those two families filed lawsuits against the Fernandez estate for negligence.

It was tough to imagine a story this sad actually getting sadder, but here we are.

[Big League Stew]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.