Christopher Schmittel, 21, Convicted of Murder in Torrey Pines DUI Crash That Killed Two Passengers

A young man who drove under the influence and crashed his car onto Torrey Pines State Beach, killing two of his passengers and seriously injuring two others, was convicted Tuesday of murder and other charges.

Christopher Ray Schmittel, 21, was found guilty of causing the deaths of Joshua Manzanares and Johnny Punzalan, both 19, by crashing a 2020 Subaru WRX through a metal guardrail on Torrey Pines Road on the night of April 25, 2022.

The car landed on the beach below, throwing Manzanares and Punzalan from the vehicle. They died at the scene, while Schmittel and two other passengers in the car were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Prosecutors say the car reached speeds of more than 120 mph just before the crash and Schmittel, who was 19 years old at the time, was driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

According to testimony, the group left the Riverside County city of Wildomar earlier that day, with Schmittel behind the wheel.

Deputy District Attorney Hailey Williams said Schmittel drove at high speeds throughout the drive to San Diego and frequently crossed into oncoming traffic lanes in order to avoid having to slow down.

Schmittel is set to be sentenced in late July. Along with murder, a San Diego jury also convicted Schmittel of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, driving on the wrong side of the road, and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05% or higher while under 21.

City News Service contributed to this article.