Redondo Beach Man Dies After Driving Car Over 350-Foot Cliff; Wife Is Hurt

A Redondo Beach man drove his car off a 350-foot cliff in Palos Verdes Estates Friday night, killing himself and seriously injuring his wife in an apparent murder-suicide attempt spurred by a domestic dispute, police said.

Guy and Heidi Ricks were parked about 8 p.m. in their 1984 Datsun on the 1200 block of Palos Verdes Drive West, which winds along the steep oceanfront cliff, when witnesses saw the car accelerate over the edge of the bluff, said Palos Verdes Police Lt. Ed Jaakola.

Both occupants were thrown from the vehicle before it landed on the rocky shoreline, police said. Guy Ricks, 27, was dead at the scene. It took about 90 minutes for county fire rescue officers to rappel down the cliff and rescue Heidi Ricks, 23, who was caught in brush about 200 feet down. She was flown by Coast Guard helicopter to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, where she was listed in critical but stable condition Saturday in the intensive care unit.