Lawsuit claims Steelers’ QB drugged at 3 Palm Beach County locations before killed by dump truck on highway

By Taylor Lang

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    BROWARD COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — The personal representative of the estate of Dwayne Haskins Jr., the Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback who was fatally struck by a dump truck while walking on a Florida interstate highway, filed a lawsuit claiming he was drugged at three Palm Beach County locations before he was killed.

The Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office said Haskins’ blood alcohol content was 0.20 when he was fatally struck on Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport just before dawn on April 9, 2022. That’s 2.5 times the 0.08 legal limit for driving in the state.

Previous Coverage: NFL reacts to sudden death of Dwayne Haskins

In the lawsuit, the estate of Haskins, including his family, claims:

Negligence and liability issues surrounding the dump truck and Kenworth truck that struck Haskins Failure of the Florida Department of Transportation and a contractor under its employment to maintain roadways and lighting so that drivers had clear sight paths Negligence of ROAM RENTAL CARE to ensure a car free of mechanical errors and full of gas Failures of Wyndham Garden Hotel Boca Raton, Drive Shack Palm Beach, Blue Anchor Pub and E11EVEN to maintain safe conditions and keep their premises free of dangerous conditions, including the negligence to allow patrons to use drugs and drug others Battery against four individuals for drugging Haskins to blackmail and rob him The Wyndham Garden Hotel Boca Raton, Drive Shack Palm Beach and Blue Anchor Pub are located in Palm Beach County.

According to the University of California, Davis, and other universities, someone of Haskins’ weight, 230 pounds (104 kilograms), would have needed 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 does not say why the former Ohio State University star had it in his system.

The report said investigators found Haskins’ car out of gas near where he was hit. A woman he was with told investigators Haskins, 24, had gone to get fuel. Witnesses said he was trying to wave down cars and standing in the center lane when he was hit by the truck and then an SUV. The report said he died of blunt force trauma. No charges have been filed.

Haskins had been in South Florida training with some of his Steelers teammates. The report said Haskins had gone to dinner with teammates and then to a club with a friend or cousin, possibly in Miami. The two got into an argument and separated.

Haskins had been on the phone with his wife, Kalabrya, back in Pittsburgh shortly before he was struck, telling her he had run out of gas. She told a 911 dispatcher she was worried when he didn’t call back and wasn’t answering her calls. She could be heard praying on the recording after the dispatcher put her on hold to find out if anything had been reported. The dispatcher then told her to stay by her phone, and that someone would contact her.

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