Michael Hastings, the journalist who sparked the resignation of Gen. Stanley McChrystal with a 2010 Rolling Stone article and died in a Los Angeles car crash in June, had small amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol — the active ingredient in marijuana — and methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death, the Los Angeles coroner's office said Tuesday.
Despite the presence of drugs in Hastings' system, the coroner ruled that the journalist's death was accidental.
Also read: Michael Hastings Death: FBI Says Journalist Was Not Under Investigation
The drugs in Hastings' system were unlikely to have contributed to Hastings' death. The coroner's report also noted that the levels indicated that Hastings had not recently used the drugs.
Hastings, 33, died in a solo traffic collision on June 18 at approximately 4:20 a.m.
According to the coroner's department, Hastings likely died instantaneously, judging by the level of carbon monoxide in his system.
While rumors surfaced following Hastings' death that he was under investigation by the FBI at the time of his death, a spokesperson for the FBI's Los Angeles field office denied those reports in June, telling TheWrap, "At no time was journalist Michael Hastings ever under investigation by the FBI."