Crime & Safety
Father ID'd In Fatal Driving Lesson Crash
The man's 15-year-old daughter, who had a driver's permit, was behind the wheel of the vehicle when it crashed.
LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Authorities Tuesday released the name of a man killed in a driving lesson crash in Laguna Beach.
The victim was identified as 64-year-old James Politoski, of Laguna Beach, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Coroner's Department.
Politoski was in the passenger seat of a car just before 4:15 p.m. Monday when it crashed through a fence in the upper parking lot of the former Gelson's Market at 24 Monarch Bay Plaza, the Laguna Beach Police Department said in a statement.
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The car then continued down a 40-foot embankment before coming to a stop upside-down on a Coast Highway sidewalk, the Laguna Beach Indy reported.
The man's 15-year-old daughter, who had a driver's permit, was behind the wheel of sustained significant injuries, authorities said. She was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where she remained Tuesday and was expected to survive, police said.
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No further information was immediately available.
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