Driver Who Died in Plunge Identified : Marine Officer Was Victim of 150-Foot Fall Down Laguna Cliff

Authorities Thursday identified the man who died when his car plunged down a 150-foot cliff in Laguna Beach as Marine Lt. Donald Renner of Laguna Beach.

Renner, 27, was driving north on Coast Highway in Laguna Beach at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when his car plunged into the El Morro Beach Mobile Home Park. Renner was killed instantly, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Ken Daily.

“For reasons we haven’t been able to determine, he was unable to negotiate the curve, crossed over into the southbound lanes and went over the cliff,” Daily said.

Nine-Year Veteran of Corp

Renner’s Toyota sedan hit the roof of one parked car, then bounced onto another before coming to rest upside down on an unoccupied mobile home, causing major damage, Daily said. Damage estimates were not available.

Deputy County Coroner Barbara Mitchell said it will be “two to four weeks” before her office completes toxicological tests on Renner in an effort to determine what caused the accident.

Officials at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, where Renner was a data systems officer, said he was a nine-year veteran and had been stationed in Orange County since September. Renner, a native of Northampton, Pa., was single.