FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The family of late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins has filed a lawsuit against several people, businesses and the state of Florida, alleging that he was drugged, robbed and extorted before being fatally beaten while standing on the floor intoxicated. a highway after running out of gas.
The lawsuit, recently filed in Fort Lauderdale, alleges the former Ohio State star was drugged and robbed by a man and three women in the hours before the April 9, 2022, accident. They say it happened at a hotel in Boca Raton, at an upscale golf driving range, bar and nightclub. The lawsuit provides no details. Haskins, 24, was in South Florida for off-season workouts with Steelers teammates when the accident happened.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of his widow and parents, also names the driver and owner of the dump truck who hit him for exceeding the speed limit, wearing out tires and brakes and being overloaded.
It says the pickup truck Haskins rented had a mechanical failure that left him out of gas. The family also alleges that the state highway department did not properly maintain and light the road, or set a lower speed limit during the construction work. They say a temporary sign blocked the view of the highway.
Family attorney Rick Ellsley said in a statement that the lawsuit will allow him to subpoena documents and question those who were with Haskins as part of “the process of uncovering the full truth about this tragedy.”
“A lot of questions remain unanswered about what happened in the hours before Dwayne was killed. It is believed that Dwayne was targeted and drugged as part of a blackmail and robbery conspiracy. In fact, his very expensive watch was stolen from him shortly before his death,” Ellsley said in a statement. He declined to answer specific questions about the lawsuit’s allegations.
The Associated Press is not naming the individuals and companies suing Haskins’ family because no criminal charges have been filed against any of them and nothing has yet been filed in court that substantiates any of the claims.
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According to an obituary issued in May by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office, a woman who was Haskins with investigators told investigators they ran out of gas on Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport shortly before dawn. She said he went out after dark to get more fuel.
Witnesses told the Florida Highway Patrol that Haskins was trying to swing cars down and was in the middle lane when he was hit by the truck and then an SUV. The report said he died of blunt force trauma.
According to his autopsy, Haskins’ blood alcohol content was 0.20. That’s 2.5 times the 0.08 legal limit for driving in the state.
According to the University of California, Davis and other universities, someone of Haskins’ weight, 230 pounds (104 kilograms), would have taken at least 10 drinks in the hours before his death to reach that level. He also had the strong painkiller ketamine and its metabolite norketamine in his system. The drug can be prescribed by a doctor, but can also be abused recreationally. The report did not state whether any medications were prescribed.
Playing at Ohio State in 2018, Haskins set several school records and was named MVP in both the Big Ten Championship game and in the Buckeyes’ Rose Bowl victory over the Washington Huskies.
Haskins, a 2019 first-round NFL draft pick by Washington, was released by the team after going 3-10 for two seasons. He was signed by Pittsburgh for the 2021 season as a backup quarterback, but he did not appear in a game.
