Memorial Day Tragedy

It's possible to smile at the headline. However, once the scope of the tragedy is made known, humor evaporates.

 

Gelson's Market parking lot in center

California dad dies during driving lesson with his daughter

A California father died in a crash on Memorial Day while he was teaching his 15-year-old how to drive in Orange County, police said.

The father, identified as 64-year-old James Politoski, was being driven by his daughter, who has a driver’s permit, Lt. Jesse Schmidt with the Laguna Beach Police Department told SFGATE.

In a social media post, Laguna Beach police said the driver crashed through a fence from the parking lot of Gelson’s Market in Dana Point. The car then plummeted down an embankment on Coast Highway between Wesley Drive and Montage Resort Drive. The preliminary cause of the crash appears to be confusion between the brake pedal and gas pedal, Schmidt said.

Laguna Beach police arrived at the crash at around 2:45 p.m., and the father was pronounced dead at the scene. The daughter was transported to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo with significant injuries, police said.

As of Wednesday morning, the teenager was in stable condition at the hospital and expected to survive, Schmidt said.

Learning from my dad and uncles, I got my Hawaiian driver's license when I was 15. I also taught a couple of people from my generation back in the '60's and '70's.

When it came time for my son to get his license, I realized that I didn't have the requisite knowledge, nor could I handle the aggravation. We enrolled him in lessons, and he passed the driver's test on his first try. I encourage any person trying to get his license to sign up for personal instruction; it is money well spent.