Aaron Hernandez's uncle was driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs last August when he crashed the motor scooter he was operating and was killed, according to ESPN.
Robert J. Valentine had both cocaine and alcohol in his system and was driving in a negligent manner on Aug. 3, Bristol police now note in their report, adding he was also operating the scooter at night while wearing dark-colored sunglasses, which likely hampered his vision.
Valentine, who suffered a severe head injury, was also not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, according to ESPN.
Hernandez, who grew up in Bristol, remains jailed on first-degree murder charges in the execution-style killing of one-time associate Odin Lloyd, whose bullet-riddled body was found in late June less than a mile from his North Attleborough mansion.
The former New England Patriots tight end has pleaded not guilty in the case and Valentine is one of several people with ties to him to have perished since the case first broke.
A friend, Thaddeus Singleton III, died after crashing his car into a Connecticut country club in June. He had cocaine and the painkiller oxycodone in his system, according to toxicology results released by police last month. He also tested positive for PCP and two cocaine-related drugs, Farmington police said.
Tabitha Perry, a passenger in the vehicle Singleton was driving, survived, but died last month after being found unconscious and not breathing inside a Southington home. The cause of her death remains under investigation.
Hernandez also remains under investigation over his alleged connection to a 2012 drive-by, double homicide in Boston that remains unsolved. Investigators have noted that while investigating the Lloyd killing they searched Singleton's Bristol home and found an SUV rented in Hernandez's name that was wanted in connection with the Boston killings.
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