EXCLUSIVE Cops say speed was a factor in Sophia Hutchins' ATV crash as friend Caitlyn Jenner battles 'tough times'

Daily Mail​

15 hours ago

Sophia Hutchins was speeding in the ATV she was driving when she rear-ended another vehicle on a winding mountainous road in Malibu and careened over a cliff 350 feet to her death, investigators tell the DailyMail.com.
Hutchins, who was Caitlyn Jenner 's manager and beloved confidant, is believed to have been traveling at a rapid rate southbound on steeply-inclined Decker Canyon Road in a black and blue-colored 2013 Polaris 'side-by-side' when she slammed into a gray 2016 Mazda 6.
'It looks like she may have been speeding and rear-ended the other car, the other party, and then that caused her to veer to the right and go off the cliff,' said Sergeant Eduardo Saucedo of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, based at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station.
'It doesn't seem like she was following them. I think she just she came up on them and then hit the car.'
Sgt. Saucedo added that there were two females in the other vehicle, a gray 2016 Mazda 6.
'So it looked like she tried to maneuver to go around it, but she was going too fast and just ended up clipping the rear end of that Mazda, causing her to veer off and go off the cliff there.'
The incident occurred at 11:30am on July 2, a quarter of a mile south of Decker Edison Road where Jenner lives.
Saucedo said he believes the former Olympian, impassioned MAGA fan and supporter and of President Donald Trump attended the accident site while Sheriff's deputies were on scene.
He said it would not be known if drugs or alcohol were involved until a toxicology report is provided by the coroner's office.
A search and rescue team rappelled down the cliffside to recover Hutchins' body, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Both of the women in the Mazda were uninjured and stayed at the scene to be interviewed by the deputies. The driver, revealed Saucedo, was a local realtor who had been showing a house in the area.
Speaking with the DailyMail.com on Friday, Saucedo revealed that the damaged ATV had been left in place in the ravine because the 'tow company didn't have a line that was long enough to attach it and pull it up.'
The same day, an emotional Jenner, 75, revealed to DailyMail.com that she was going through 'tough times' amid her obvious searing grief.
She spent the national holiday in mourning at her remote four-bedroom, four-bathroom mountain-top Malibu home, complete with stunning 360-degree views, that she purchased in 2015 for $3,575,000.
Then in the afternoon she was spotted visiting a local Starbucks on Pacific Coast Highway for a refreshment.
This is not the first time Jenner has dealt with immense tragedy following a vehicle accident fatality.
In 2015, she was driving a Cadillac Escalade towing a trailer with an off-road vehicle when traffic suddenly slowed ahead and she rear-ended a Lexus driven by Kimberly Howe, 70, which was already slowing or had stopped.
The force of the impact shunted Howe's vehicle into the opposite lane, where it was struck head-on by a Hummer. She died at the scene. Four vehicles were involved in the horrific accident.
Sheriff's investigators found Jenner was traveling within the speed limit, though possibly 'unsafe for road conditions.' She braked 1.5 to 2 seconds before impact, having eased off the gas around four seconds prior.
The case was reviewed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office but prosecutors concluded that they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her actions were unreasonable or negligent, so they declined to pursue vehicular manslaughter charges citing a lack of evidence despite the sheriff's department recommending manslaughter.
Jenner had to pay $800,000 to settle a lawsuit and also pay for the plaintiffs' medical expenses and attorneys' fees.
Hutchins featured heavily in the reality series 'I Am Cait' which ran for two seasons.
She previously told The New York Times that they 'were never romantically involved' with each other which Jenner has repeated.
'I don't feel a need to address my sex life, quite frankly, unless I want to,' Hutchins told the outlet in 2019.
Then aged 23, she riffed on Jenner's superstar relatives: 'I'm on good terms with all the family, but I'm closest with Kris, Kim, Kylie and Kendall.'
Hutchins' last public appearance with Jenner was in 2024 when Sophia accompanied her to the April 2024 White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C.
Just like her boss, Hutchins was a vocal supporter of Trump and met with him, posted to social media: 'The energy, passion, and commitment for our movement to Save America has never been greater! We will never give up'
In January of this year, Hutchins also posted to Instagram a photo of she and Jenner celebrating Trump's second inauguration with Judge Jeanine Pirro.
Jenner re-posted the image to her own Instagram for her 15.2 million followers to see.
Hutchins' final Instagram post was in April when she showed followers a picture broken candelabra that had been repaired.
She was a student at the prestigious Pepperdine University when she met Jenner. In 2016, Hutchins told her school newspaper that it was her new friend who inspired her to transition.