The ill-fated boat trip that led to the death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and two of his friends could have been far worse, it turns out.
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Fernandez was killed along with friends Eddy Rivera and Emilio Macias when his 32-foot boat crashed into a jetty around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. But, according to the Miami Herald, the 24-year-old first asked multiple teammates to go for a late-night spin on the water with him, and they all declined. One of them, outfielder Marcell Ozuna, pleaded with Fernandez not to go out on the water in the dark.
"That night I told him, 'Don't go out,'" Ozuna said. "Everybody knew he was crazy about that boat and loved being out on the water. I told him I couldn't go out that night because I had the kids and my wife waiting for me."
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A friend of Rivero's, Will Bernal, also urged him not to go out on the boat via text message.
"Yo, please be careful bro," Bernal wrote Rivero. "Try to keep him close to shore."
Rivero texted back: "Trust me it's not my time yet."
Fernandez and Rivero reportedly stopped at dockside restaurant American Social, where they picked up Macias. Drugs and alcohol were apparently not a factor in the accident, according to reports. Authorities are reportedly still investigating which of the three men was driving the boat.
