Dwayne Haskins death: Florida Highway Patrol probe could take months

MIAMI, April 12 (UPI) -- The Florida Highway Patrol has launched what could be a 90-day traffic homicide investigation into last weekend's highway death of NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins, a police spokeswoman told UPI Tuesday.

FHP Lt. Indiana Miranda said no additional information about the incident will be released until the investigation is complete, and that a 90-day time frame is standard for the scope of the investigation, which involves evidence collection, interviews and transcribing.

She noted that investigators work multiple cases simultaneously, which adds to the time needed to conclude in investigation.

A spokesperson from the Broward County medical examiner's office said Tuesday that the office is waiting a toxicology report as part of a separate investigation into the cause of death.

Haskins, 24, was killed Saturday morning when he was hit by a dump truck while walking on an interstate highway near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The FHP said earlier that Haskins attempted to cross Interstate 595 westbound on foot "for unknown reasons." Moments later, he was hit by the truck. Florida law does not permit pedestrians on Interstate highways for safety reasons.

The day before his death, Haskins participated at a practice session with several Steelers teammates in Boca Raton, Fla.

Dozens of tributes to the young quarterback appeared on social media and in news conferences throughout the sports world.

Ohio State, for which Haskins played from 2016 t0 2018, announced Monday that it will honor the former Buckeyes star at its spring game Saturday in Columbus. The game will air at noon EDT on Big Ten Network.

"There is a good group of our guys who played with Dwayne and they are hurting," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told reporters. "It was a tough weekend for all of us.

"It's hard to wrap your mind around this when it happens to a young person and somebody who had such a big heart."

Haskins totaled single-season school records by completing 70% of his throws for 4,831 yards and a 50 to 8 touchdown to interception ratio as a redshirt sophomore for the Buckeyes in 2018.

The Buckeyes beat Washington in the Rose Bowl, Haskins' final college game. He finished third in Heisman Trophy voting that season.

Haskins entered the NFL as a first-round draft pick by the Washington in 2019. He spent two seasons with the NFC East franchise and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.

Haskins attended the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., from 2013 to 2016. A school spokesperson told UPI on Tuesday that the high school held an assembly Monday morning with Haskins' family in attendance.

Haskins' funeral arrangements have not been announced.