A young man accused of two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of two passengers while he was driving while impaired has hired a new attorney, thus delaying his preliminary hearing to April 14, 2023.

Christopher Ray Schmittel, 20, is accused of causing the deaths of his friends, Johnny Punzalan, 19, and Joshua Manzanares, also 19, who are from Lake Elsinore. They were killed on April 25 off N. Torrey Pines Road along the coast.

Schmittel was to have his preliminary hearing heard on Dec. 6, but it was delayed in San Diego Superior Court so his attorney could have more time to prepare.

Schmittel remains in the South Bay Detention Facility without bail.

He pleaded not guilty and is also charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the two deaths, as well as causing injuries to two other teenage passengers.

Schmittel is believed to have been driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol when his Subaru WRX crashed through a guardrail at 13000 N. Torrey Pines Road and went off a ledge. The vehicle rolled down an embankment and landed on the beach below. He was believed to be driving at a high rate of speed.

He was 19 years old at the time but turned 20 in jail. Schmittel was arrested on May 15 by the Fugitive Task Force at his home in Moreno Valley in Riverside County after his release from the hospital.

If he is ordered to stand trial, a jury could decide whether to convict him of murder, vehicular manslaughter, all charges, or acquittal.