Bruce Jenner tries Come Clean with TV Interview

                                                                 

                                                               

Everything was going according to Bruce Jenner's plan. Fresh off taping an interview with ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, in which he opened up about his transition to living as a woman, he took a quick trip to New York City. The athlete left his luxurious room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel for several Starbucks runs, even obliging one fan with a selfie February 5. "He seemed comfortable and relaxed," the fan says of Bruce, who is filming a docuseries about his transformation. "He was happy."

But life can change in an instant. Back home in Malibu two days later, Bruce was towing a dune buggy from his Escalade on the Pacific Coast Highway at 12:15 p.m. when the Lexus sedan in front of him rear-ended a Prius. Bruce, 65, swerved but could not avoid slamming into the Lexus, propelling it into oncoming traffic, where it was struck by a Hummer. The driver, 69-year-old Kim Howe, was killed and five others were injured. While emergency workers were still on the scene, online outlets rushed to blame Bruce for the crash, accusing him of texting or speeding to elude photographers. "This couldn't have come at a worse time for him," notes a friend of Keeping Up With the Kardashians' father figure. "He is in a state of shock." The following night, Bruce said as much to Us in a statement: "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."

Bruce's Heartbreak

After the collision, the motivational speaker was cooperative with authorities. He passed a field sobriety test and submitted a blood sample to prove he was not intoxicated. Bruce's rep says he will also surrender phone records, telling Us, "The evidence will show that Bruce was not texting at the time of the accident." An insider adds that Bruce "knows he wasn't responsible, but he feels terrible. He watched the woman's body being taken out of the car."

Rattled, the gold medalist called his once-estranged son Brody, who sped to the site with girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter. The Hills alum, 31, has "been great for Bruce," says a family pal, adding that the two have grown closer since Dad's 2013 split from ex Kris. Stepdaughter Kim Kardashian, 34, was with husband Kanye West at the Roc Nation pre-Grammy brunch in Beverly Hills when she got a text and "left quickly," according to an attendee. His stepdaughters Kourtney, 35, and Khloe, 30, who were neighbors of the victim, and daughters Kendall, 19, and Kylie, 17, all called to comfort him, says a source: "They all want to be there for him."

Big Reveal

As police investigate the crash, Bruce will continue his journey of self-discovery. Though he did not wear feminine makeup during his chat with Sawyer, says a source, he did reveal a name he plans to assume in the near future: "He referred to her in the third person."

He is also mulling a name for his upcoming E! show. Two insiders tell Us Bruce is working with Bunim/Murray Productions, the team behind Keeping Up. "E! wants to see the footage first," says one, "then decide how many episodes."

For now, says a close source, Bruce is just happy to be alive. "Everybody feels for him," says the source. "He's been fighting a private battle and has come so far. Now he's really shaken up."

(c)2015 Us Weekly. First published in Us Weekly Magazine. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC   http://www.bostonherald.com