US News

Coroner reveals details about journalist Michael Hasting’s death

Award-winning investigative journalist Michael Hastings had traces of marijuana and amphetamines in his system when he died in a fiery June car crash, but the drugs played no role in his death, the Los Angeles Coroner said today.

The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office concluded that the journalist died of “traumatic injuries” consistent with auto accidents, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The coroner said Hastings, 33, who had been a drug addict in the past and recently relapsed, had traces of methamphetamine and THC in his system.

Hastings’ drug use prior to the accident was confirmed by his family, who “was attempting to get [Hastings] to go to detox.”

Hastings had been sober for 14 years, but had recently fallen back into drugs. He had arrived in Los Angeles the day before the accident.

The paper also reports that a medicinal marijuana card was found in the reporter’s wallet. He had a prescription due to post-traumatic stress from his time as a war correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hastings crashed his rental car just before 5 a.m. on June 18. He was likely dead within seconds the coroner determined.

Some conspiracy theorists have suggested that Hastings must have been working on a big story before his death. His family has done nothing to propagate these beliefs though.

“You know, my gut here, was that it was just a really tragic accident, and I’m very unlucky, and the world was very unlucky,” Hastings widow Elise Jordan told CNN’s Piers Morgan earlier this month.

The FBI has said that Hastings was never under investigation by the agency.