Danny Cox Crash Officially Ruled a Suicide

A solo-vehicle crash that killed a disabled Petaluma teen near Olompali State Historic Park has been ruled a suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office. The office's final report on the incident was released Friday.

Danny Cox, a 19-year-old former star athlete at , received an outpouring of support after being paralyzed in a diving accident in August 2010 at Lake Tahoe. Shortly before the crash, he had received his drivers license so he could get to his physical therapy appointments.

At 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7, a 2005 Dodge Magnum driven by Cox just north of Novato after the car veered off the road for an unknown reason, according to the preliminary California Highway Patrol report. The car came to rest about 10 feet from the highway in a ditch.

CHP said the car was not speeding and that there were no skid marks on the highway. Cox died of multiple blunt impact injuries, according to sheriff-coroner’s investigators.

Cox’s mother, Maureen McGowan, said her son struggled with being confined to a wheelchair and had feelings of despair.