AMERICAN journalist Michael Hastings told colleagues he suspected he was being investigated by the FBI just hours before he was killed in a fiery car crash in Los Angeles.

Hastings, a former Buzzfeed and Rolling Stone reporter, also revealed he was "onto a big story" in an email that has alarmed his former colleagues and created mass suspicion among online commentators.

The 33-year-old made his big break while writing for Rolling Stone when he triggered the downfall of General Stanley A McChrystal with a damning profile on "The Runaway General". He also had stints reporting from war-zones in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On the subject of his car accident, the LAPD says there are no signs of foul play. His Mercedes reportedly hit a tree at high speed, causing the car to burst into flames. But there are some eyewitness accounts which suggest his car exploded before impact.

Investigators are yet to formally identify Hastings' body as his remains are so badly charred.

Slate reports his last email, found by a friend, read: "Hey... the feds are interviewing my 'close friends and associates.' Perhaps if the authorities arrive 'buzz Feed GQ' er HQ, may be wise to immediately request legal counsel before any conversations or interviews about our news-gathering practices or related journalism issues. Also: I'm onto a big story, and need to go off the radar for a bit."

The FBI subsequently issued a statement to the press denying it was conducting any investigation of Hastings. But an Army officer who knew Hastings from the frontline, Staff Sgt. Joseph Biggs, reckons something is off.

"It alarmed me very much," he told Salon. "It doesn't seem like him. I don't know, I just had this gut feeling and it just really bothered me."

Infowars.com also reports Hastings's "big story" was related to the CIA, and that he'd contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson the day before his death.

Hastings previously revealed he'd been subjected to death threats during his investigation of General McChrystal, saying it was commonplace in his line of work: "Whenever I'd been reporting around groups of dudes whose job it was to kill people, one of them would usually mention that they were going to kill me."

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