A California woman died after her car plunged 25ft down an embankment, sparking outrage among residents over the parking lot’s dangerous design that has seen more than one disaster in just over a year.  

Laguna Beach police responded to a 911 call Friday evening near the Aliso Creek Plaza Shopping Center after a 79-year-old woman drove over a curb and through a fence before her car plunged down the cliffside.

The vehicle overturned as it plummeted and landed on its roof on the busy sidewalk below. 

The woman, whose identity has not been released, was taken to Mission Hospital, where she later died from her injuries. 

No other injuries were reported. 

Residents are now fuming after the crash marked the second fatal incident involving the shopping plaza’s embankment in just over a year. 

In May 2025, a father met the same fate while teaching his 15-year-old daughter how to drive.

James Politoski, 64, was sitting in the passenger seat while his teenage daughter was driving through the parking lot, when she suddenly crashed through the fence.

A 79-year-old woman died after her car plunged 25ft down an embankment in a shopping center in California

Laguna Beach police responded to a 911 call Friday evening near the Aliso Creek Plaza Shopping Center

The vehicle plunged off the cliff and overturned. Politoski was pronounced dead at the scene, while his daughter was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries. 

Investigators said at the time that the teen may have accidentally confused the gas and brake pedals, causing her to crash through the barrier. 

Laguna Beach locals are calling for the city to replace the wooden fence at the parking lot’s elevated edge with a stronger safety guardrail. 

‘This fence needs to be replaced,’ resident Joanne McMahon told KTLA5.

‘You can see the [nearby] ADA ramp,’ McMahon mentioned as an example.

‘It’s a heavy duty steel structure so a car is not going to fly through it like this. I mean, you can see rotting wood in this fence,’ she told the outlet.

McMahon is calling on the city to take action and hold the shopping center owner accountable for the decayed fence.

‘Something’s got to change and I think the city needs to get involved,’ she told the outlet.

James Politoski, 64, was sitting in the passenger seat while his teenage daughter was driving through the parking lot, when she suddenly crashed through the fence

Pictured: The wooden barrier that the car sped through before plummeting on the sidewalk below back in 2025

The horrific crash remains under investigation, Laguna Beach police said in a statement.

‘The cause of the collision remains under investigation. At this time, investigators are working to determine the circumstances that led to the vehicle leaving the roadway.

‘It is unknown whether drugs, alcohol, or a medical emergency were factors in the collision,’ they added.