Golf cart death case closed due to insufficient evidence

California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers have closed their investigation into an incident involving a golf cart at Pala Mesa Resort that resulted in the death of 41-year-old Gregg Lypps in January.

Lypps had participated in a charity golf tournament on January 17 for Fallbrook High School’s baseball team with friends and fellow Fallbrook High graduates. According to official reports, he was riding back to the clubhouse on the back of a golf cart, lost his balance, and fell, at which time he sustained grave head injuries.

North County Fire responded to the emergency call and transported Lypps to Palomar Hospital, where he was placed on life support. After making arrangements to donate his organs, Lypps’ family discontinued life support and his death was pronounced on Jan. 20.

According to CHP information officer Chris Parent, “several” interviews were conducted to determine what caused the accident. Previous reports from other CHP sources stated: “stories relating to this incident aren’t matching up.”

“The best we could come up with was the fact that <an 18-year-old male> was driving the golf cart,” said Parent. “The report written on the actual occurrence was based on very vague statements. There will be no prosecution and we have closed the case.”

Though it is believed Lypps and another individual on the golf cart had been drinking, no alcohol charges were levied in the case.

Parent stated that this particular case was difficult to investigate because of its unusual circumstances.

“It was not a normal circumstance from beginning to end,” he said. “We were called a few days after the incident, so we were unable to perform on-scene investigation. Witness statements were vague, so we had to basically write a report on vague statements. We cannot charge anyone with anything based on vagueness.”

Parent reiterated that this case highlights the importance of witness participation and clarity.

“The more cooperative witnesses are with an investigation, the easier it is for us to determine exactly what occurred,” said Parent. “This sometimes happens when individuals spend a couple of weeks [discussing it] outside of the incident. There is no implication that people were trying to hide certain details.”

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