Dwayne Haskins was drugged and blackmailed, according to lawsuit

The suit was filed on behalf of Kalabrya Haskins and Haskins’s parents, Dwayne Haskins Sr. and Tamara Haskins, and comes a year and a day after Haskins died at 24. It alleges that four people drugged Haskins “to blackmail and rob him, causing him and/or contributing to cause him severe injury and death.”

The suit does not provide details about the alleged drugging, blackmail or attempted robbery.

According to a Broward County medical examiner’s report, Haskins’s blood alcohol content was 2½ times the legal limit in Florida, and a urine test showed ketamine was in his system at the time of his death. He was attempting to cross the highway in search of a gas station after his rental car had run out of gas just after 6 a.m.

Also named in the suit are the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Boca Raton, Fla., and three establishments Haskins visited in the hours before his death: Drive Shack in West Palm Beach, Fla.; Blue Anchor Pub in Delray Beach, Fla.; and E11Even nightclub in Miami. The suit charges the businesses allowed “patrons to use drugs and drug other patrons including [Haskins].”

“As to what occurred in the hours before Dwayne was killed, many questions remain unanswered,” Ellsley wrote in a news release announcing the suit. “It is believed that Dwayne was targeted and drugged as part of a blackmail and robbery conspiracy. In fact, his highly-expensive watch was stolen from him shortly before his death.”

Nearly a redemption tale, Dwayne Haskins became a tragic mystery

The suit alleges Oriel Patino, the driver of the truck that struck Haskins, was driving “carelessly” and “above the speed limit” and that the truck’s owner, Pedro Sinecio Diaz, did not make proper repairs to its brakes and tires. Patino declined to comment when reached by phone Monday.

“Many questions remain as to why the truck driver did not avoid hitting Dwayne given the highly visible activity in the area before the impact and the fact that the other drivers did not hit Dwayne,” the news release stated. “The truck driver’s cell phone records have not yet been disclosed. The report also notes that the driver refused to provide a blood sample to the police at the scene and still has not provided the alcohol test results.”

In addition, the suit alleges the Florida Department of Transportation had obstructed visibility with a construction sign and didn’t properly maintain the lighting or lower the speed limit in the area where Haskins was hit. It also named Roam Rental Car of Miami, the local operator of the Ace Rent A Car franchise, claiming the company rented Haskins a car that was “mechanically damaged,” leading to him running out of gas.

Haskins, who starred at Bullis School in Potomac, Md., and later at Ohio State, was drafted by Washington in the first round in 2019 but never fully established himself as the team’s quarterback. Washington released him late in the 2020 season, and he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021. He appeared to be reviving his football career before his death.