Photog's Last Call He Absolutely Believed Justin Was Smoking [AUDIO]
The last person to speak with the photog who was killed Tuesday following Justin Bieber's car tells TMZ ... Chris Guerra was quite sure Justin had been smoking pot while driving earlier in the day.
The person who spoke with Chris at 5:16 PM -- less than an hour before he was killed -- did not want us to use his name. He's also a photog who took Chris under his wing, and says Chris was one of his closest friends.
He also says he believes Justin is partly to blame for Chris' death because of the singer's reckless driving history and alleged pot smoking which made it a big story to follow.
As for Miley Cyrus' comments, he says, "Good Christians that I know ... don't throw stones at people who get killed."
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Justin Bieber Photog Killed After Chasing Bieber's Ferrari
7:30AM PST: Justin released a statement, saying ... "Hopefully this tragedy will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves."
8:40PM PST: Justin Bieber was not in the Ferrari ... sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ. We're told one of Justin's friends was driving and another friend was in the passenger seat.
A paparazzo attempting to shoot photos of Justin Bieber's Ferrari was hit by another car and killed this evening -- although Bieber was NOT behind the wheel of the Ferrari ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Bieber's white Ferrari was pulled over by California Highway Patrol for speeding on the 405 ... near the Getty Center in LA. The CHP directed the driver to pull off the freeway, onto Sepulveda Blvd.
According to our sources, Bieber was DEFINITELY not driving at the time.
We're told a paparazzo -- who was following the Ferrari at the time of the pull over -- attempted to snap pics while officers conducted the traffic stop.
The photog then crossed Sepulveda to snap pics and was told twice by the CHP to go back to his car on the other side of the road. When the photog tried crossing back, he was struck by an oncoming vehicle as he crossed back and was killed.
Our sources say drugs and alcohol were not a factor for the driver of the vehicle that hit the photog.
LAPD is now on scene investigating the incident.
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Justin Bieber Photog Claimed Singer Had Been Smoking Weed
The photog who was killed taking pics of Justin Bieber's car made a call less than an hour before he died, telling someone he was on a big story -- because he claimed he saw Justin smoking marijuana while driving.
A source connected with the photo agency for whom Chris Guerra did freelance work tells TMZ ... Chris called him at 5:16 Tuesday afternoon. Chris said, "Man, you won't believe my luck. It's pretty dead in L.A.. Everybody thinks Justin and Selena are in Mexico, but they're not."
Chris -- who worked exclusively on the Bieber detail -- said he had spotted Justin's car earlier in the day at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills and also saw Selena Gomez's car there.
Chris went on ... claiming he saw Justin earlier in the day smoking what he believed was marijuana from a pipe while driving the Ferrari.
Our source says Chris told him he was following Justin back to the Four Seasons and was continuing to pursue what he believed was a big story.
The source says after 20 minutes, Chris abruptly said the Ferrari was pulling out of the hotel parking lot and he needed to hang up and follow it. Apparently he had no idea Justin was NOT in the car.
Our source -- who as we said is connected to the photo agency -- believes Chris was probably "overzealous" at the traffic stop because he believed he was on the cusp of an enormous scoop.
Justin's rep tells TMZ, "It's really sad that people are trying to push a story without the facts so soon after this tragic accident. Justin was not present or involved in this incident and the focus should remain on honoring the memory of the victim."
The rep did not directly respond to the marijuana allegation.
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Justin Bieber's Ferrari Lil Twist Was Driving When Photog Died
Rapper Lil Twist was driving Justin Bieber's Ferrari when it was pulled over Tuesday night ... moments before a paparazzo was hit by another car and killed -- TMZ has learned.
According to sources, 19-year-old Lil Twist was hanging with Bieber at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills on Tuesday afternoon ... when, for some reason, he left in the white Ferrari without Justin.
Multiple sources tell us Twist -- who is a Lil Wayne protege -- and Biebs have been hanging out and partying together for several weeks now.
They even celebrated New Year's Eve together in Mexico ... where they're both of legal drinking age.
A rep for Lil Twist tells us the rapper did not see the accident happen ... and sends his thoughts and prayers to the family of the photographer.
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Justin Bieber Photog Followed the Singer All Day
TMZ has learned the identity of the photog who was killed while shooting Justin Bieber's car -- he's freelance paparazzo Chris Guerra.
Sources tell us -- Guerra, who was in his late 20s -- was following Bieber all day Tuesday. Guerra called someone connected with a paparazzi agency at around 5:30 PM to say he was waiting for Justin, who had pulled into the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills a short time earlier. Guerra abruptly said the Ferrari was pulling out of the hotel and he had to leave.
Guerra apparently assumed Justin was in the car. As we first reported ... he was not.
Guerra had been working in a Las Vegas casino for several years, when he moved out to L.A. in March to become a photog.
In recent months, he worked the Bieber detail exclusively.
Guerra was not married and had no kids.