James Politoski, Laguna Beach, California dad killed teaching 15 year old daughter how to drive after girl confuses brake pedal for gas pedal and accelerates over embankment only to crash upside down 40 feet below.
A California father was killed while teaching his 15 year old daughter how to drive when their vehicle plunged off a cliff in Laguna Beach.
James Politoski, 64, of Laguna Beach, was in the front seat of a Volkswagen Convertible when his teen daughter crashed through a fence at an upper parking lot of a grocery store and rolled 40 feet down an embankment before flipping upside down onto the highway.
The girl, who wasn’t identified sustained significant injuries and was taken to the hospital. She is expected to survive, FOX11 reported, citing police.
‘Gas pedal, brake pedal confusion’
The father who was the only occupant in the vehicle died at the scene, the Orange County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Department stated.
The tragedy according to Laguna Beach Police happened on Monday, May 26, around 4:15 p.m, with the vehicle plunging off an embankment after crashing through a fence barrier of a Gelson’s Market parking lot.
A release stated the automobile coming to rest along the Coast Highway between Wesley and Montage Resort drives.
A report via KCAL indicated a pedal mix up may have led to the deadly driving lesson.
‘Gas pedal, brake pedal confusion, and tumbled over a 40-foot cliff on the Coast Highway,’ Laguna Beach police Lt. Jesse Schmidt said
At the time of the driving lesson, the teen girl was on a driver’s permit.
‘It’s a tragic incident,’ Schmidt said. ‘The community is shaken by this because someone lost their life by being a good parent.’
Authorities continue to investigate.
