Coroner releases report providing details on award-winning journalist Michael Hastings' death

Published January 13, 2015

A Los Angeles County coroner's autopsy found traces of amphetamine and marijuana in the body of journalist Michael Hastings but concluded that it was an unlikely contributor to his death in a fiery single-car crash.

The report released Tuesday says the 33-year-old Hastings died instantly of "massive blunt force trauma" the same morning family was due to arrive in town to convince him to go to detox. Investigators say after 14 years sober, he'd started to use drugs again in the last month after moving to California from New York.

Toxicology results indicated he'd possibly taken methamphetamine many hours before his death.

Hastings won a George Polk Award for his Rolling Stone article that led to U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal's resignation as U.S. commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

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