Officials: Man Drove Car off PVE Cliff in Suicide Attempt [Updated]

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled the name of Capt. Mark Velez. It has been corrected in the text below.

A 19-year-old man was hospitalized Friday after he deliberately drove his car over the side of a cliff in Palos Verdes Estates and into the ocean in what was believed to be an apparent suicide attempt, authorities said.

"Statements made by the 19-year-old driver to investigators and evidence collected at the scene indicate he intentionally drove off the cliff's edge in what may have been a suicide attempt," Palos Verdes Estates police Capt. Mark Velez said.

Velez and Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Miguel Ornelas said the vehicle landed in the water just below the Bluff Cove cliff after the car was driven over the edge in the 1300 block of Paseo del Mar at about 2 a.m.

When officers arrived at the scene, Velez continued, they spotted the vehicle at the waters' edge and heard someone calling for help. Those officers then called the L.A. County Fire Department for help to rescue the driver. Because of the location of the car, a helicopter was called in to assist in the rescue.

County paramedics removed the driver and he was taken to Harbor UCLA Medical Center in serious condition, Velez said. Media reports said the rescue took almost two hours. Police called in heavy equipment and a helicopter to retrieve the vehicle from the water.

The driver's name was not released.

—City News Service.