Dwayne Haskins was a star. The college football player set Big Ten Conference records for single-season passing yards and passing touchdowns when he was just a sophomore. He was the real deal, and he was poised to have a major NFL career when he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.
Tragically, Haskins’ career and life were cut short on April 9, 2022. CBS News reported that he was struck by a dump truck while attempting to cross a highway on foot. Haskins was only 24 years old. It was widely viewed as a tragic accident at the time, but more details about his death have been brought to light recently.
Here’s what you need to know about his cause of death.
Haskins’ family alleges he was drugged before his death
The events leading up to Dwayne Haskins’ death are alleged to have been much more complicated than initially reported. The football player’s family filed a lawsuit that alleged Haskins was drugged and robbed by a group of three people the same evening. A toxicology report on Haskins did confirm that he had a myriad of drugs in his system at the time of his death.
According to Sports Illustrated, the football player’s blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, at .24. It was also determined that ketamine, oxymorphone, methamphetamine and norketamine were in Dwayne Haskins’ system when he died. The allegation that he had been drugged would provide an explanation for the alarmingly high amount of substances in his body.
There were several other aspects of the lawsuit filed by the Baskins family. They alleged that the driver of the dump truck that hit Dwayne Baskins was also accused of speeding, as well as violating weight limit regulations. They also alleged that the rental car that Baskins was driving that fateful night had a defect, which is why it ran out of gas on the side of the road. Tragically, all of these components had to line up to result in an untimely death.
Haskins’ family have filed multiple lawsuits
In August 2023, Haskins’ family reached a “partial settlement” with the driver, owner, and broker of the aforementioned dump truck. A specific amount was not mentioned, but it was agreed upon that the identities of these various parties would not be made available to the public. ESPN reported that Haskins’ family had yet to settle lawsuits against the other parties they felt were partially behind the death of Dwayne, but no updates on these particular settlements have been revealed.
What has been revealed, however, is that the family has sued Dwayne Haskins’ widow. The lawsuit, as read by sports law reporter, Jason Morrin, alleged that the widow has been harassing them since the football star’s death:
Ever since the tragic death of their son and brother, the Haskins Family has experienced constant harassment from the Defendant whenever they have attempted to reference his name, image and likeness in public forums such as social media.
The lawsuit against Haskins’ widow was filed in August, 2024, according to Fox News. It seems there’s more to come in this tragic story, so we’ll update this article as when new developments occur.
