San Diego police say the 76-year-old man drove off Coast Boulevard and landed in the water near La Jolla Cove. He was rescued from the water but did not survive. NBC 7’S Dana Williams reports.
The man who died earlier this week after his vehicle went through a fence, over a cliff and into the water in La Jolla has been identified.
Florida resident David Scott Lapensee, 76, was pronounced dead at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla early Wednesday morning, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. Officials have not released a cause or manner of death as of Friday afternoon.
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WATCH HEREThe crash was reported off Coast Boulevard near La Jolla Cove on Tuesday just after 8 p.m., the San Diego Fire Rescue-Department said.
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SIGN UP A Marine Safety lieutenant with SDFD told NBC 7 that six lifeguards helped pull Lapensee out of the vehicle within 13 minutes of getting the 911 call. The department also added that 30 personnel were assigned to help with the rescue.
CPR was performed at the scene before Lapensee was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, an SDFD spokesperson said.
No other people were found in or near the car in the water, the fire department said.
Around noon the next day, lifeguards went into the water to help a tow crew connect the battered white Toyota to cables. It took several hours and attempts to pull the car from the water. The challenge was in part due to the location where it landed. It is known as "the hole," according to Marine Safety Lt. John Maher.
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"There's a lot of current, there's a lot of backwash, the surf kind of channels into this bowl," he said. "We call it 'the hole.' It recirculates the water. It is a very dangerous area surrounded by two to three sides of cliff."
At 12:04 p.m. the car was lifted onto Coast Boulevard by a tow truck with a crane. Another investigator at the crash site told NBC 7 they are keen to recover the car's crash recorder to see what led up to moment the car plunged off of the street.
