64-Year-Old Man Dies Teaching Teen Daughter How to Drive

Epoch Times

6 days ago

A 64-year-old man who was teaching his teenage daughter how to drive died on Monday after the car plunged over a cliff in Laguna Beach, California.
The 15-year-old girl was practicing driving with her dad, identified by police as James Politoski, in a Gelson's Market parking lot, which has parking spots along a 40-foot embankment facing the Pacific Coast Highway.
The Laguna Beach Police Department said the car drove through the fence and fell off the hill, flipping over and landing on its roof on a sidewalk below.
Politoski, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene. The teenager, who had a permit, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries but is in stable condition as of Tuesday morning, Lt. Jesse Schmidt told The Epoch Times.
Police confirmed the driver and passenger were father and daughter, and Laguna Beach residents. Photos from the scene suggest the car was a Volkswagen Beetle. No one else was injured.
'It is really tragic,' said Schmidt. 'Somebody lost their life being a good parent.'
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Schmidt told The Epoch Times that driving around the parking lot was part of their regular practice route.
'It was a father-daughter driving lesson. She's a permitted driver, and Dad was taking her out on a normal route that they had practiced before. Just a really tragic accident, really is what it comes down to.'
The accident was reported just before 4:15 p.m. between Wesley and Montage Resort drives. The accident is currently an ongoing investigation, police said. No other injuries were reported.
'Our condolences go out to the family and the loved ones around this that are affected,' he added. 'This doesn't just affect their family, it affects the whole community.'
Reinforcing the fence around the parking lot facing the cliff is not out of the question, said Schmidt, but that conversation hasn't been instigated with property owners yet, citing the ongoing investigation.