Lawyer claims Fernandez was drugged before fatal crash

Attorney Ralph Fernandez filed court documents Tuesday that claim Jose Fernandez did not voluntarily take cocaine prior to the boat crash that resulted in the deaths of the Miami Marlins star pitcher and two others in 2016.

"Jose Fernandez and Eduardo Rivero were the victims of foul play, the two of them unwitting participants of a spiked drink or a mickey of sorts," Ralph Fernandez states in the 167-page document.

Ralph Fernandez filed the document in response to a wrongful death case filed against the pitcher by the families of Eduardo and Emilio Macias, who were killed in the crash.

In addition to allegedly being a victim of foul play, the attorney claims Jose Fernandez had $15,000 in cash in a backpack that night, along with other contents. The backpack was recovered but the cash was not. He says Jose was drugged in an effort to steal the money and the "perpetrator never (intended) to kill but (figured) the superstar would leave it as lost."

Ralph Fernandez claims the $15,000 was intended so Jose could pay stadium personnel during the last days of the season as a way of saying thanks for their help during the year.

"When the backpack was found, even baseballs were in it, but the money disappeared. The only thing not recovered was the cash. Somebody took the cash before they left on the boat."

Ralph Fernandez also believes there's evidence that states Jose was not driving the boat at the time of the crash.