SAN DIEGO — A young man convicted of murder for driving under the influence and crashing his car onto Torrey Pines State Beach, killing two of his passengers and seriously injuring two others, was sentenced today to 32 years to life in state prison.
Christopher Ray Schmittel, 21, was found guilty by a San Diego jury 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 of friends 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 trip to San Diego and frequently crossed into oncoming traffic lanes in order to avoid having to slow down.
Williams said the impact on the victims’ families “have had long-lasting and far-reaching consequences that I’m sure none of us can even begin to fully understand.”
Among those who spoke at Friday’s sentencing hearing was Ashley Corona, one of Manzanares’ sisters. She told Schmittel, “You clearly didn’t care to risk the lives of people you considered to be your friends. They trusted you, and you failed them.”
Another sister of Manzanares, Jennifer Sanchez, directed her statement to her late brother, who she said loved playing the guitar and riding bikes.
“Your presence is very missed. I know you wanted to see the world. Now you can go anywhere,” she said.
Manzanares’ mother, Alma Sanchez, called him “my baby boy” as he was her youngest son.
“I miss him so much that words can not ever come close to explain or describe the pain that I feel,” she said. “I always get very upset thinking of how my son lost his life when this could have been avoided.”
Punzalan’s twin brother, Benjamin, said it pained him to wake up each morning in the bedroom he shared with his brother for 19 years.
“My brother and Josh, they were two amazing people. Two great people. Words can’t describe that,” he said.
Schmittel apologized in court, telling the families, “I know my words probably don’t mean much to you guys, but I’m very sorry. I know I can’t compare it to the loss that you guys suffered, but I do suffer the loss of my friends, too. I know I shouldn’t have been doing the things I was doing when it happened, and I really do think about that every day.”
His attorney, Sean Jones, requested probation or possibly running Schmittel’s prison terms concurrently, arguing those would be more appropriate sentences due to his young age and lack of criminal record. The defense also requested to modify the verdicts on the murder counts to lesser charges.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez declined the defense’s requests and said the reckless driving on display over a multi-hour period while under the influence reflected the reckless disregard for human life required for a murder conviction.
The judge said Schmittel “disregarded the well-being — not just of his passengers and himself — but every single person on the road that day” and that it was “only through sheer luck that no one was injured earlier.”
He was sentenced Friday to two consecutive 15-to-life terms for the second-degree murder counts, plus two years for DUI, causing injury to one of his passengers who was wounded in the crash.
