Second 19-year-old passenger killed in Torrey Pines State Beach crash is identified

A second passenger killed in a crash through a guardrail off North Torrey Pines Road on April 25 has been identified as a 19-year-old Lake Elsinore man.

Johnny Ildefonzo Punzalan and another passenger, Joshua Manzanares, also 19 from Lake Elsinore, were thrown from the Subaru WRX they were riding in after the driver lost control, police said.

The car had been speeding south on North Torrey Pines south of Carmel Valley Road shortly before 11 p.m. when it struck the center median, crashed through a guardrail and plunged down an embankment to Torrey Pines State Beach, authorities said.

Neither of the passengers killed was wearing a seat belt, according to the San Diego County medical examiner’s office.

Two other passengers, both 18, suffered serious injuries.

The 19-year-old driver, who suffered minor injuries, was suspected of driving under the influence, police said at the time of the crash. The driver’s name has not been released, and police have declined to answer questions about the status of the investigation. ◆