MIAMI _ Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez was seen at a Miami River bar and may have argued with a girlfriend in the hours before his boat crashed into a jetty off South Beach Sunday morning, killing him and two friends.
Fernandez, 24, died when his 32-foot SeaVee "Kaught Looking" slammed into the Government Cut north jetty at a high speed, investigators say. He died in the crash along with Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25. The incident remains under investigation by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, which changed its story Monday and acknowledged that the boat belonged to Fernandez.
Investigators have not indicated what the trio was doing, or where they were going when their boat, headed south, plowed into the dark rocks that jut east into the ocean from South Pointe Park after 3 a.m. But the Miami Herald confirmed that Fernandez was at American Social Bar & Kitchen in Brickell sometime overnight. A spokesperson for the bar said there was no timeline for his appearance, but acknowledged in a statement attributed to an unidentified manager that he was there, as first reported by TMZ.com.
"Jose Fernandez was a guest at American Social. We would like to extend our sincerest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the families and friends who share in the loss of the three victims involved in this tragic boating accident and to the Miami Marlins organization," the statement said.
The confirmation of Fernandez's whereabouts was just one of several details to trickle out following the violent crash, which ripped the fiberglass from the left side of the hull and flipped the vessel onto the jetty rocks. Two men were found by divers trapped beneath the boat, and a third was thrown from the vessel.
Initially, an FWC officer said the boat was not Fernandez's, but belonged to "a friend of Jose's who is very well connected to several Marlins players." Officer Lorenzo Veloz said he'd seen the boat several times, and that Fernandez was never behind the wheel.
But investigators confirmed Monday that Kaught Looking _ spelled with a backwards K, the symbol for strikeouts when the batter doesn't swing _ was indeed the pitcher's. FWC Officer Rob Klepper said the initial statements about the boat's owner were simply a mistake.
"The exact time of the accident is still under investigation and the operator of the vessel at the time of the accident is undetermined at this time," Klepper said in a statement.
Though there is no criminal case _ everyone in the accident is dead and there would be no one to charge _ the FWC turned to prosecutors to draft a search warrant to search the boat, in an abundance of caution. A Miami-Dade State Attorney's spokesman would not talk specifics.
"FWC has a duty to investigate tragic boating accidents like this one," said spokesman Ed Griffith. "Upon FWC's request, the State Attorney's Office has agreed to help the agency gather the necessary information to fully clarify what actually happened early Sunday morning and why."
In a press release, Klepper confirmed that Macias and Rivero were also aboard Fernandez's boat Sunday morning. The two friends were both graduates of G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School and both have studied psychology at Florida International University _ Rivero was still attending. Macias, the son of a Miami-Dade police detective, worked at Wells Fargo Advisors. Rivero, an avid boxer, worked for Carnival Cruises.
It's not clear if the two friends were with Fernandez when he left the bar.
Klepper declined to discuss whether they were looking into Fernandez's appearance at American Social. He also declined to discuss whether investigators were aware of a Sunday Instagram post from Will Bernal, a friend of Rivero's who said Fernandez was upset about something before the trio boarded his boat.
"Try to keep him close to shore if you go out," Bernal texted Rivero.
"Trust me it's not my time yet," Rivero responded.
"I know but try to keep Jose cool, tell him what I said," Bernal wrote back.
Rivero then posted a picture of his phone's map application, showing an area of the Miami River.
In an interview with the Miami Herald, Bernal said Rivero had only met Fernandez within the past few months and had actually left a birthday party late Saturday night to hang out with the Marlins superstar, "who was really stressed out."
Bernal, a Miami socialite, believes Fernandez might have been stressed after getting into an argument with his girlfriend. Bernal said he spent the night text messaging with Rivero, who tried to get him to come along. Worried about boating at night, Bernal declined.
"I was trying everything in my power to try to convince him to not go out on the boat, and Jose too," Bernal told the Miami Herald.
Klepper said FWC "investigators are looking into every lead."
The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office has completed the physical autopsies of the three victims but pathologists are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, according to an office spokesman. Klepper said the cause of death for the three men has not yet been established.
Fernandez, one of baseball's best and most exciting pitchers, was originally slated to pitch Sunday, but his start was moved back one day. For Monday night's game, the entire team is expected to wear his number 16.
Outside the Kendall home that Fernandez bought for his grandmother, Olga Fernandez, a dozen balloons in Marlins blue, orange, black and white were tied at the gate. A sign drawn in marker read, "We will miss you Jose," with drawings of hearts, baseballs, the Marlins logo and Fernandez's jersey number.
Fernandez's agent, Scott Boras, brought flowers to the family Monday and spent a couple of hours at the home. He broke down while speaking about the late pitcher, who escaped Cuba during a harrowing boat trip across the Florida Straits, during which his mother fell in the water and he swam to her rescue.
"It's so rare that you get a Cuban-born native who comes here, acclimates, he goes to high school and becomes such a rare, rare talent," Boras said. "He became a model for all those who made that transition."
In an interview with El Nuevo Herald, Ramon Jimenez, the longtime fiance of Fernandez's mother, said he was hoping to hear from his "son" soon to learn about whether he'd pitch Sunday or Monday. Instead, he received a 6 a.m. call at his Tampa, Fla., home about Fernandez's death.
When the phone rang, he thought it was Jose.
"Everything fell apart," Jimenez said. "That is something no parent wants to hear. I still refuse to believe it. I think that at some point I will wake up from this nightmare."
Fernandez's family is planning to a public service open to fans on Thursday. Other details have not yet been announced.
Macias and Rivero also left behind grieving friends and family.
Macias, the son of a detective in the warrants bureau of Miami-Dade police, worked for Wells Fargo Advisors. Rivero, who worked for Carnival Cruiselines, was an avid boxer and was a regular at a Wynwood gym owned by Matt Baiamonte.
Rivero was just there Saturday, thumping away at the double-end bag, said Baiamonte, who had just returned after a stint training out of town.
"He came running up to me and just gave me the biggest hug," Baiamonte said. "It's a small gym. We're kind of family."
Known as "Eddy Green Eyes," Rivero had found the gym through photos on Instagram, and trained diligently, frequently sparring on Friday nights. "The kid could definitely hit," Baiamonte said.
Last year, he brought in Fernandez, who planned to start training there after the baseball season.
"I didn't even know who he was," Baiamonte said of the pitching star. "He was so humble, regular down-to-earth guy. He was just happy to be at the gym."
Rivero, who worked in sales at Carnival, bonded with Bernal a few years ago over a love of sneakers.
"He had a girlfriend he loved and wanted to start a life with. He was trying to work hard, get out of some debt, and create a future with his girlfriend," Bernal said. "He was one of my best friend. I talked to Eddy as much as I talk to my wife. He was a humble, giving person. One of the most generous guys I knew."
