A close friend of Payman Engheta said Monday that the deceased Stevenson Ranch husband and father touched many hearts.

Engheta, 47, died Sunday after he lost control of his Lamborghini convertible on Bouquet Canyon Road near Cavi at the Big Oaks Lodge, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

“We lost a beloved angel and dedicated father of two sons, a loving husband, a compassionate and devoted doctor,” said friend Nader Javadi as he read from a letter prepared by Engheta’s immediate family.

The CHP report said Engheta was driving at about 40 miles per hour on northbound Bouquet Canyon Road when he lost control of his vehicle on a right curve. The Lamborghini slid and rotated until its left side collided with a tree near Cavi at the Big Oaks, a restaurant almost four miles north of Lombardi Ranch.

CHP acting Sgt. Tony Getzelman said the measure of Engheta’s speed was based on preliminary investigation including witness reports of people at the restaurant. However, the collision is still under investigation, he said.

The speed limit in the area is 55 miles per hour, Getzelman said.

Los Angeles County Fire Department units responded to the collision, which occurred about noon on Sunday. Engheta was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he endured eight hours in the operating room, Javadi said.

The local man suffered traumatic injuries to the head and a rib fracture, said Javadi, who is also a doctor and has known Engheta since middle school.

Engheta had a dentistry practice in Topanga, but his family has lived in Stevenson Ranch for seven or eight years, Javadi said.

Javadi also said that wife Homa Engheta was too distraught to speak and sons Babak and Behman – 6 and 10 years old – had not been told about their father’s death yet.

Engheta had just gone out for a ride Sunday morning and was supposed to return home for lunch with his family, Javadi said.

“We miss him so much,” Javadi read from the prepared letter. “His body is not with us anymore, but his loving memory will live in our heart forever.”

The CHP does not suspect alcohol or drugs were a factor, the report said.