San Diego

Driver in Fiery Lamborghini Crash Had Blood-Alcohol Level Twice Legal Limit: ME

A driver who was killed when his speeding Lamborghini crashed and ignited in flames outside a Naval building in downtown San Diego had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, a medical report shows. 

Michael Llamas, 33, had a blood-alcohol level of .17 -- more than double the .08 legal driving limit -- when he lost control of his 2016 green Lamborghini on North Harbor Drive and crashed into a curb last November. The car was propelled into a palm tree and struck a large decorative anchor outside the Naval building, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office report. 

The car burst into flames immediately. 

Llamas charred body was found in the driver's seat of the disintegrated sports car, the medical examiner's report said. He was declared dead at the scene. The report concluded Llamas' death was due to thermal injuries and smoke inhalation.

The report also showed that he had phentermine in his system, a common medication that suppresses appetite and is used to lose weight. 

His passenger, fashion model Stephanie Rivera from Tijuana, Mexico was ejected from the vehicle and badly injured. She died in the hospital days later. 

Llamas was a controversial medical marijuana businessman who was awaiting sentencing on fraud charges, court documents obtained by NBC 7 last November confirmed. Llamas was due to be sentenced in federal court for filing falsified documents and financial misdealings in a real estate sale.

Court records confirm that Llamas was also a defendant in at least four civil cases involving the medical marijuana business.

Llamas' attorney Michael Pancer in the federal fraud case told NBC 7 that Llamas “accomplished a number of business successes relating to the hemp industry and medical uses of hemp and oil derived from hemp products.”

Another lawyer who represented Llamas in the federal case said his client helped patients in need of pain relief around the world, often at his own expense.

"He always talked about helping other people, attorney Guadalupe Valencia said. "That’s a lot of what his life was about. Like any other person involved in a big business, there’s always going to be some types of lawsuits, but he was a really reformed, really good young man," Valencia said.

Contact Us