Dad teaching teen daughter to drive dies in crash off cliff, California cops say
.jpeg "The father was pronounced dead on scene, Laguna Beach police said.")
A father teaching his teenage daughter to drive died after their car crashed down a cliff during a lesson, California police say.
Laguna Beach police and fire rescuers responded to a report of a traffic accident on Coast Highway just before 3 p.m. Monday, May 26, the Laguna Beach Police Department said in a news release on Instagram.
A 15-year-old girl was behind the wheel learning to drive with her 64-year-old father in the Gelson’s Market parking lot above Coast Highway, Lt. Jesse Schmidt told McClatchy News in a May 28 email.
At some point, the teenager, who had a driver’s permit, drove through a fence barrier, police said.
The car continued down an embankment and came to rest on Coast Highway, police said.
Aerial footage shared by KCAL shows the car overturned on the sidewalk below the cliff.
The teenage girl suffered significant injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, police said.
The father was pronounced dead on scene, according to police.
“It’s a tragic incident,” Schmidt told the Orange County Register. “The community is shaken by this because someone lost their life by being a good parent.”
Police said an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
“Gas pedal-brake pedal confusion” may have led to the crash down the 40-foot cliff, Schmidt told KCAL.
The girl was still hospitalized as of Wednesday, May 28, but is in stable condition, Schmidt said.
“It is always difficult when an accident leads to the loss of life—especially under circumstances where a parent was simply trying to do the right thing by teaching their child a valuable life skill,” Schmidt said. “What began as an act of care and guidance ended in unimaginable sorrow.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 10:21 AM.
