Lawsuit: Haskins drugged, robbed in blackmail plot before death

The wife of Dwayne Haskins and his family have filed a lawsuit accusing four individuals of drugging, blackmailing and robbing the former NFL quarterback before his death last year.

Haskins died in April 2022 in Florida after he was hit by a dump truck while crossing Interstate 595 in the early hours of the morning.

Filed on the behalf of Kalabrya Haskins and Haskins’ parents in a Broward County, Florida court, the complaint lists four people — Joey Smith, Meriem Yassine, Wissal Yassine and Karlee Peyton — who allegedly conspired to “blackmail and rob him causing him and/or contributing to cause him severe injury and death.”

“As to what occurred in the hours before Dwayne was killed, many questions remain unanswered,” attorney Rick Ellsley said in a statement. “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. 

“The filing of this lawsuit is an important step in the process of uncovering the complete truth about this tragedy.”

The suit, which does not provide details of the drugging conspiracy, also names several other defendants — including the driver of the dump truck, the owner of the truck and various establishments that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback visited the night before his death. 

The complaint alleges that Boca Raton Hotel Group, the Blue Anchor Pub, Drive Shack Palm Beach and E11Even Miami club were all negligent in Haskins’ death by “allowing patrons to use drugs and to drug other patrons.”

An autopsy report from the Broward County’s medical examiner last year found that the former Washington player had traces of painkillers ketamine and norketamine in his urine and had a blood alcohol limit 2½ times the legal limit at the time of his death. The examiner ruled Haskins’ death an accident and was the result of “multiple blunt force injuries.” 

The autopsy said that Haskins attempted to cross the interstate to find a gas station after his rental car ran out of fuel on the side of the highway. Haskins was struck by the left front side of a dump truck.

Haskins’ family’s lawsuit also accuses the rental car company (Roam Rental Car), the Florida Department of Transportation and an unnamed contractor for the department of negligence. The suit says that the rental car company provided Haskins with a car that “was unreasonably dangerous and hazardous because it was mechanically damaged and ran out of gas.” It accuses the state’s Department of Transportation of obstructing visibility with a construction sign and failing to provide lighting or a slower speed limit where Haskins was hit. 

As for the driver, the complaint accuses Oriel Patino of speeding, driving “carelessly,” failing to operate his vehicle in a “reasonable manner”  and carrying a cargo load that exceeded the legal limit. The owners of the dump truck — Pedro Sinecio Diaz — and Sorrel Enterprises were also named as defendants as the lawsuit alleges that they did not make proper repairs to the vehicle’s brakes and tires. 

“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,” Ellsley said. “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.”

The lawsuit, filed last month, was announced a year and a day after Haskins’ death. A star at Ohio State and drafted 15th overall by Washington in 2019, Haskins was a backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time of his death. He was 24.