The Kardashians

Bruce Jenner has lawyered up in the wake of Saturday's fatal car crash, in an investigation that will make its way to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office ... TMZ has learned.

Bruce was leaving the West Hollywood law offices of Blair Berk, a top criminal defense lawyer who has repped an untold number of celebs.

We've learned once the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. finishes its investigation, they will send the case to the L.A. County D.A. for review. A law enforcement source says it's SOP to refer such a case to prosecutors when a driver breaks the law and someone dies.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... they now believe Bruce was not texting and driving. But cops think Bruce was following too closely which is a traffic violation, and such a violation that results in the death of another motorist could theoretically be grounds for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Some members of the transgender community are up in arms over the way Bruce Jenner has chosen to come out ... but Bruce is saying this isn't one size fits all and he's not apologizing.

Bruce's friends say he was adamant he would not make the big move until his daughters were old enough to understand his decision and withstand what he believes is the inevitable teasing.

As for the interview and TV shows ... Bruce is saying it has nothing to do with money and has everything to do with control. He wants his story to come out the way he feels is best.

We're told Bruce is surprised Zoey Tur doesn't understand where he's coming from, since she's been the most vocal about the community's anger over Jenner packaging the announcement for TV.

One source says, "He's still going through the motions and wants to take his time to help his youngest daughters cope. It's not about a TV show or announcement."

Bruce Jenner has volunteered all of his cell phone info to the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. to prove he was not texting at the time of Saturday's fatal car crash.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jenner has authorized Sheriff's detectives to get all the necessary data from Jenner's cell phone carrier, thus making a search warrant unnecessary.

We're told Jenner's promise was verbal but the Dept. needs it in writing in order to gain access to the info.

As we reported, an independent photo agency was at the scene immediately before the crash and snapped a pic of Jenner holding a cigarette and not a cell phone.

The Kardashians are lying when they say they were blindsided by news that Bruce Jenner was becoming a woman, and in Kris' case she's known for years ... sources directly connected to the Jenner family tell TMZ.

We're told Jenner's sons are finding it hard to stomach reports that Kris had no idea Bruce was becoming a woman. That's exactly what Kardashian sources told TMZ, that Kris was in the dark.

But that has infuriated members of Bruce's family, who say Kris has known since they got married that Bruce "had issues with his sexual identity." And they say his desire to transition surfaced years ago.

Our Jenner sources say Kris wanted it under wraps because it would "hurt the brand." So for the last few years they say she was ironfisted about keeping it all private.

We're also told the Jenner boys are upset with Kim -- although they will deny it publicly -- because they are convinced she knew exactly what she was doing when she talked about Bruce's journey and she jacked Bruce's moment.

Bruce Jenner may not be the driver who caused a woman to die on PCH Saturday ... because law enforcement tells TMZ they now believe the Prius that led the pack made a sudden stop, causing the Lexus to crash into it ... BEFORE Bruce hit the Lexus.

As TMZ first reported ... Sheriff's deputies were suspicious of the story the Prius driver told. She said she was stopped at a red light, but she was 300 feet from the light. When cops asked her if there was a line of cars in front of her she was vague. Deputies think she might have been making an illegal U-turn.

So the current scenario is this ... the Prius came to a sudden, possibly illegal stop on the highway. The Lexus hit the Prius and then Bruce slammed on his brakes, swerved right but was unable to stop, slamming into the Lexus. The Lexus then went into oncoming traffic and hit the Hummer, killing the Lexus driver.

It appears there is no criminal liability on Bruce's part. As for civil liability, there is a law that you cannot follow too close and need to prepare for sudden events. But if the Prius stopped without warning ... that driver could be at the very least partly responsible for the accident.

6:00 PM PST -- Jenner released a statement about the crash saying, "My heartfelt and deepest sympathies go out to the family and loved ones, and to all of those who were involved or injured in this terrible accident."

Bruce adds, "It is a devastating tragedy and I cannot pretend to imagine what this family is going through at this time. I am praying for them. I will continue to cooperate in every way possible.”

Bruce Jenner will not get in trouble with the law as a result of his deadly car crash ... at least that's the way it appears based on a new photo.

The picture was taken by an independent photo agency just before Bruce slammed into a Lexus Saturday on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, sending that driver into oncoming traffic where she was killed after colliding with a Hummer.

It was unclear what, if anything, Bruce was holding in his left hand seconds before the crash. But the new photo shows Bruce clutching a cigarette, not a cell phone. The photo (above) is the first in a sequence shot by the agency, just before the Lexus comes into frame.

TMZ broke the story, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department was getting a search warrant to determine if Bruce was texting at the time of the collision ... but this picture would seem to make that unnecessary.

It's illegal to text while driving and motorists who do can be prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter if someone dies as a result.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. will get a search warrant to determine if Bruce Jenner was texting at the time he slammed into a car, causing the driver to die ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, they will get warrants for both Bruce's phone records and the cellphone itself. It's illegal to text while driving in California and if Bruce was texting Saturday when he struck a car on PCH in Malibu, authorities could charge him with vehicular manslaughter.

The photos we posted showing Bruce in the car immediately before impact do not reveal what if anything he's holding. It appears he might be clutching something in his left hand but it's unclear.

Even if he was texting, our sources say proving he was doing it at exactly the moment of the crash could be difficult or even impossible.

Our law enforcement sources also tell us they're positive Bruce tried to avoid the accident. The tires on his trailer produced significant skid marks and at the last minute Bruce veered to the right, causing the Lexus to swing left into oncoming traffic. A Hummer struck the Lexus, killing the Lexus driver.

We're told cops are skeptical about the story of the Prius driver, who was hit from the rear by the Lexus in the chain reaction. The Prius driver says she was stopped at a red light, but she was about 300 feet from the light itself. Cops don't know if there was a long line of cars in front of her or if she stopped before the light to make an illegal U-turn. They tell us her story is "vague."

We're told cops didn't check Bruce's phone at the accident scene. As one law enforcement source put it, "We were more interested in his sobriety." Bruce passed the sobriety test.

3:45 PM PT Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Bruce volunteered to go to the hospital to have his blood drawn for blood alcohol testing. He was taken in a Sheriff's cruiser. We've also learned the woman who was killed in the white car was coming to a stop at a red light when Bruce hit her. We're told law enforcement has already determined Bruce was not speeding.

And we're told there was a 4th car involved in the accident. The woman in the white car hit a Prius in front of her before moving into oncoming traffic.

Bruce Jenner was involved in a horrific car accident on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu at around noon Saturday, one person is dead, and it looks like Bruce caused the accident ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... there were 4 vehicles involved in the crash. We're told there were 8 people involved and all sustained some sort of injury ... but one person died at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say Bruce rear ended the white car and that car went into oncoming traffic and was struck by the Hummer. You can see the impact in the pics below. The woman driving the white car died.

One law enforcement source said Bruce seems to be ok, but again, we're told the 7 survivors sustained some injuries, ranging from minor to moderate.

Jenner family sources tell TMZ Bruce was being chased by as many as 5 paparazzi at the time of the crash. Bruce told cops he wasn't drinking and passed a field sobriety test.

We're told Bruce had picked up his Polaris UTV after loaning it to a wounded veterans group.

People in the transgender community are angry at Bruce Jenner for packaging his announcement he's becoming a woman into a TV show, saying he's more interested in money than setting an example.

Zoey Tur, a leader in the L.A. transgender community, tells TMZ Live there's a lot of anger because they have no real role models now and here is a world class athlete who could literally save lives by way of example but is now deep in the TV game, exploiting the announcement.

Tur, formerly famed CBS helicopter pilot Bob Tur who shot the Reginald Denny beating, says, "This is a civil rights battle. This is not about selling TV shows."

Tur says the suicide rate for transgenders is enormous -- 6 times the national average, yet Bruce is angling to roll his announcement out on season 10 of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and then on his own docuseries.

Bruce Jenner -- who has been married three times and produced 6 children -- could become attracted to men after a powerful element of his transition into a woman takes hold ... this according to medical experts and members of the transgender community.

TMZ has spent several days surveying medical experts, who tell us Bruce is in the middle of Cross-sex Hormone Therapy, which involves heavy doses of estrogen.

The estrogen drives down levels of testosterone and the brain "feminizes" -- in the vernacular, he begins to "think like a woman."

Several prominent doctors in the field tell us, the hormones often change sexual preference. These doctors say in cases where sexual preferences change from women to men, the patient often had suppressed feelings before the transition and the estrogen allows their true feelings to surface.

One leader in the transgender community tells TMZ ... she says based on 300 transsexuals in various countries, 1/3 of them retained their sexual preference, 1/3 identified themselves as bisexual and 1/3 changed sexual preference.

As for Bruce ... we're told he's in a transformative stage, where his skin will change, and his breasts will grow and his voice will become more feminine. The changes are enhanced by procedures Bruce has already completed, including Botox, facial laser hair removal and several other surgeries, including his laryngeal shave.

When Bruce Jenner broke the news of his transition to his family ... his ex-wife took it the hardest, because we're told he had never said a peep to her about it.

But not everyone's buying Kris Jenner didn't know -- even if this was a case of don't ask don't tell.

Bruce Jenner kept Kris Jenner in the dark over his sex change until their family meeting several weeks back ... and she flipped out because she just couldn't believe the man to whom she was married for 22 years wanted to become a woman.

Family sources tell TMZ ... Kris heard all the buzz about Bruce but he never told her and she never asked. It sounds incredible, but we're told there was "a serious lack of communication in the marriage."

When they had their family sit down -- which of course was recorded -- we're told Kris squarely challenged Bruce, disbelieving he truly wanted a sex change. Things got heated because Bruce insisted he was both comfortable and determined.

We're also told Kris felt this was a shining example of the fundamental problem they had in their marriage -- they hardly communicated with each other, and Bruce was especially shut down.

But Kris was not singled out. Bruce kept virtually everyone in his life -- including his close male friends with whom he spent lots of time -- in the dark.

You may recall, when TMZ posted the story in December 2013 that Bruce was getting a laryngeal shave, he told us he absolutely was not undergoing a sex change. We were told otherwise at the time but Bruce was adamant.

It was all part of his plan to gradually let people get wind of what he was doing so it wasn't an enormous shock.

Diane Sawyer was in no mood to spill the beans about what appears to be her big scoop with Bruce Jenner.

Our photog got Diane leaving her home in NYC Thursday ... and when he mentioned the interview, you can see Sawyer pick up the pace, scurrying to her SUV.

TMZ broke the story ... Bruce's transition into becoming a woman will be chronicled in a docuseries that will air as early as May. Production and Jenner family sources tell us it will NOT premiere until "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" Season 10 has fully aired.

The Kardashian family will do something they've NEVER done before ... turn down promotion for their TV show.

Family sources tell TMZ ... not a single Kardashian or Jenner will do press related to the premiere of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" Season 10.

The reasons we got are pretty obvious. They don't want to spill more details about Bruce's transition for several reasons. First, they want the reveal on THEIR show, which will absolutely address it.

Also we're told Bruce is adamant that he wants to control his own story, which will be chronicled in a docuseries that will air as early as May, but only after the "Kardashians" finale airs.

Bruce Jenner's family is now regularly leaking out stories that have been obvious to all for quite some time ... that the Jenner patriarch is becoming a woman.

The latest leak is to "People," quoting a family source that Bruce is making the change. As we reported more than a year ago, Bruce underwent an operation called a laryngal shave, to smooth out his Adam's Apple, and at the time our sources were clear ... it was, as one put it, "one of the first steps."

We spoke to Bruce at the time and he said he was "absolutely not" transitioning, but the denial was part of his plan to make the change gradually, which he has done over the last year, to the point it simply became obvious and an announcement became almost irrelevant. But his decision to transition had been firmly made months before.

Our sources say Bruce is now far along in the process, has undergone various procedures and psychological counseling, and is ready to show his journey to the world. Our sources say it's so far along his docuseries will air as early as May.

People is reporting his family is supportive but not all family members are on board 100%. As we told you, the family filmed Bruce's formal announcement to them last month and during the conversation Kris freaked out. The other kids -- the boys and the girls -- have been more supportive, especially the older ones.

A leader in the transgender community tells TMZ they've known for "way more than a year" Bruce was doing this and some felt he should have announced it when he had the laryngal shave. But we're told Bruce decided a gradual transition followed by a revelation would be better for him and his family.

Bruce Jenner is calling ALL the shots in the production of his upcoming docuseries which chronicles a journey that will produce some fundamental changes in his life ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the production tell TMZ ... the docuseries will begin airing in either May or June on E!.

We're told a significant portion of the docuseries will involve Bruce's interaction with doctors, discussing procedures and goals. It will also deal with psychological implications.

As we reported, Bruce's family, including his daughters, sons and Kris, will all appear on the show but they are not the central part.

Our sources say Bruce is at the center of production. Kris is not calling any of the shots. And we're told it's a "completely separate project" from "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and Bruce does NOT want it to air until the "Kardashians" finale is over and out.