Newbury Park Man Falls to His Death Off Canyon Cliff

A 29-year-old Newbury Park man who apparently took off work to go out with friends Sunday died when he slipped off a 35-foot cliff, hit a rock and fell into the water of a popular swimming hole in Thousand Oaks, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives, fell about 3:20 p.m. at a remote swimming spot in Hill Canyon, about a two-mile hike from the north end of Ventu Park Road, Ventura County Deputy Coroner Jim Wingate said.

He was pronounced dead by ambulance personnel shortly after they arrived, Wingate said.

The victim, who had been standing on a cliff above the narrow, 20-foot-deep pool of water, was trying to climb to a lower spot when he slipped and fell 15 feet, hitting his ribs against a jutting rock.

He then fell another 20 feet into the water, according to Wingate and witnesses.

About 15 teen-agers and adults were at the swimming hole, where youths make a game out of jumping from the cliffs into the water.

“He was standing on the edge,” said Northridge resident Ted Coudsy Jr., 24, who made his first visit to the swimming hole Sunday. “I saw his foot slip.”

Coudsy and several other young men, including two friends of the victim, immediately jumped into the water, pulled the man onto the rocks and tried to revive him by giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and pumping his chest, witnesses said.

Two other youths ran back up the trail to where they had parked to drive to a phone and call for help.

Coudsy and other witnesses said the man never regained consciousness. “We felt a little pulse when we got him out, but he was gone immediately,” Coudsy said, adding, “I didn’t know the guy, but I was trying my hardest to save him.”

The man, who was an employee at Home Depot in Newbury Park, probably died of internal injuries that he suffered when his chest hit the rock, Wingate said.

Wingate and witnesses said the victim was drinking at the time of the accident.

One youth at the scene said he heard the victim’s friends say the man had taken off work to spend the day with them.

The youth, 16-year-old Jimmy Williams, said the swimming hole is a popular hangout.

“It’s pretty dang popular,” said Jimmy, a student at Simi Valley High School. “It’s not a swimming place. You jump off cliffs into water.”

Jimmy and another witness said people can make the jump safely, if they are cautious.

But police said otherwise.

“It’s dangerous,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Terry Hughes said. “We’ve had accidents there for years.”

Although Jimmy said he had jumped from the cliffs safely on Sunday and during past visits, he doesn’t plan to go back to the swimming spot.

“Never again,” he said. “Too dangerous.

Wingate said an autopsy will be performed today.

Times staff writer Peggy Y. Lee contributed to this report.