SAN DIEGO (CNS) - An autopsy report made public Friday concludes that the death last summer of a teenage computer-gaming entrepreneur who plowed his pricey sports car into oncoming traffic while speeding the wrong way on Interstate 805, killing himself and two other people, was accidental.
In the aftermath of the deadly Miramar-area freeway pileup two months ago, numerous Twitter users who claimed to have known 18-year-old Trevor James Heitmann opined that the Carmel Valley resident, devastated by the demise of his online business, had caused the wreck intentionally as a means of committing suicide.
The newly released document from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office disputes that interpretation of the teen's death.
Though Heitmann was not intoxicated at the time of the wreck and apparently made no attempt to swerve out of the path of oncoming vehicles, he left no suicide note, had "no history of depression or suicidal ideations or attempts" and "had no official diagnosis of a mental illness," according to the report.
The document, citing statements from Heitmann's parents, notes that the teenager's behavior had begun changing shortly before his death in ways that, though undiagnosed, were "suggestive of mania."
Heitmann, who had made a lucrative name for himself online as a combat- video-game aficionado and promoter, was driving south in a northbound carpool lane at more than 100 mph when his 2015 McLaren 650S smashed head-on into a 2010 Hyundai SUV near the Eastgate Mall shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 23, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The impact obliterated the expensive sports car and mangled the Hyundai, which became engulfed in flames. Seven other oncoming cars then crashed, as well, or were struck by flying debris.
Heitmann died at the scene, as did the occupants of the Hyundai, 43- year-old Aileen Pizarro of San Diego and her 12-year-old daughter, Aryana. Another driver suffered serious injuries but survived.
Two days prior to the deadly freeway pileup, Heitmann "confided to his mother that he had driven his McLaren at the speed of 150 mph in a 25-mph zone and drove down the wrong side of the street," according to the autopsy report.
"When told he could not drive in that manner, he replied, `I can do it,"' the document asserts. "(His) father then asked him what he thought would happen if police caught him, and the decedent responded that `neither the police nor their bullets could hurt him."' Heitmann also stated that he believed he was experiencing a "meltdown."
The teen's behavior continued to be erratic and irrational, according to the report. On the day of the accident, his parents contacted San Diego police to request a psychiatric evaluation, "but were informed that (such a procedure) could not be performed, as the decedent had not broken any laws," the document states.
Later that morning, Heitmann broke into sobs and said he was having a "breakdown," then retired to his bedroom and slept for about four hours. When he awoke, he continued behaving irrationally and announced that he "had to go," according to the autopsy report.
After Heitmann's father told his son he could not leave because the McLaren was blocked by the older man's car, the teen went to his sports car, started the engine and began ramming the other auto, according to the report. The teen eventually managed to get his McLaren out of the driveway and sped off.
At that point, the teen drove a few blocks to Ashley Falls Elementary School, where he smashed his car through a gate and accelerated onto the grounds of the campus near groups of shocked students, according to the CHP and San Diego police. Heitmann then pulled to a stop, got out of the car and smashed a window on a school building before getting back into the McLaren and speeding away, witnesses told authorities.
About a half-hour later, Heitmann and the Pizarros were dead amid the mangled, burning wreckage of their vehicles.
According to the computer-gaming news website Vpesports.com, Heitmann, using the online moniker "McSkillet," had been a popular and successful YouTube purveyor of videos centering on the first-person-shooter game Counter- Strike: Global Offensive. The teen also operated a related computer-gambling website, CSGOMagic.
Late last year, Valve, the developer of the game, banned all of Heitmann's accounts related to the franchise due to concerns over its use by bettors. The move resulted in significant monetary losses to the San Diego teen, Vpesports.com reported.
News 8's Chris Gros reports from Kearny Mesa with reaction from the family of the victims about the released report.
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