Per Terry Spencer of the Associated Press, a report from the National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed what we had previously heard about former pitcher Roy Halladay, who died on November 7, 2017 while flying his plane off the Gulf of Mexico.
At the time, witnesses said that Halladay’s plane had been flying low and diving prior to the crash. An autopsy report issued two months later found morphine, amphetamine, Prozac, and Ambien in Halladay’s system. The NTSB report has confirmed all of the above.
According to the report, Halladay’s amphetamine levels were 10 times the recommended therapeutic level. Halladay was also doing high-pitch climbs and steep turns, and came within five feet of touching the water.
Mike Sisak of the Associated Press notes that Halladay battled chronic back pain, depression, and insomnia after retiring from baseball. He went to rehab in 2013 and ’15 for misuse of opioids and benzodiazepine.
The NTSB docket can be found here along with the report.
Halladay, who died at the age of 40, was inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame in 2019, receiving 85.4 percent of the vote. The eight-time All-Star won two Cy Young Awards -- one in each league -- and authored both a perfect game and a postseason no-hitter.
