Man, 19, arrested in crash that killed 2 passengers

A 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday, accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in a crash that killed two passengers and injured two others near Torrey Pines State Beach last month, police said.

Christopher Schmittel was arrested at his Moreno Valley home in Riverside County by members of a regional fugitive task force, although he was not on the run, San Diego police Sgt. Victoria Houseman said Monday.

Schmittel was booked into the Vista jail on suspicion of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI.

Houseman would not specify what kind of drugs investigators believe Schmittel had used.

The crash happened just before 11 p.m. April 25. Police allege that Schmittel was driving a Subaru WRX south on Torrey Pines Road — which runs along the coast — at high speeds when he lost control of the car. It crashed through a guardrail, went off a ledge and landed on the beach.

Two 19-year-old passengers, Johnny Ildefonzo Punzalan and Joshua Manzanares, who were not wearing seat belts, were thrown from the car and died at the scene, according to police and the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

Two other passengers, a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man, suffered serious injuries and were taken to a hospital.

Schmittel suffered serious injuries, too. He was hospitalized and released. Schmittel remained in jail without bail as of Monday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call the San Diego Police Department at (619) 531-2000 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 580-8477.