Jose Fernández died in a pre-dawn boating crash on September 25, 2016. He was piloting a 32-foot boat at about 66 mph when it struck a rock jetty off Miami Beach, Florida. The crash caused the boat to overturn, and Fernández along with two friends were ejected and died at the scene from blunt-force trauma and drowning. Toxicology reports showed that Fernández had cocaine in his system and was legally intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.147 at the time of the accident. Speeding and intoxication were key factors in the crash.