Michael Delgadillo, Off-Duty Cop Who Died in Crash, Had Been Drinking and Texting: Police

They say drinking and driving don't mix, but for the late Michael Delgadillo drinking, driving and texting didn't mix either. The Newport Beach Police Department, which is investigating the Costa Mesa Police detective's fatal, single-car crash on March 5, has disclosed that besides driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.14 percent, Delgadillo was texting and not wearing a seatbelt before he met his end.

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The 57-year-old father of four and 32-year veteran of the Costa Mesa force was alone and off-duty in his sedan when it smashed into a cement column on Bristol Street beneath the 55 freeway in Costa Mesa after 10 p.m. on March 5. Delgadillo died at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana early the next morning.

Blood was drawn from him shortly after the accident and before he died. The coroner's office, which had already ruled the death an accident caused by blunt-force trauma, later received the toxicology report that showed his blood-alcohol content exceeded California's legal limit for driving, which is 0.08 percent. Small amounts of painkillers were also found in Delgadillo's system, but not enough where it should have effected his driving, according to the coroner.

Newport Beach Police say they have forwarded the results of their investigation to their Costa Mesa colleagues.

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