ADN 4/30/90

The Anchorage Police Department Sunday identified a man who was killed when he drove over a cliff in Eagle River Saturday night.

Patrick Robert Aiken, 28, probably died instantly from the 80 foot fall he took on a 4 wheel all terrain vehicle at 8:40 p.m. Saturday, said Sgt. Marilyn Bailey.

Aiken was driving along Stonehill Road, a Jeep trail that comes to an end at a precipice above the south fork of the Eagle River, Bailey said.

"It appears to be a 4 wheel drive trail that leads right up to the edge," Bailey said. "There's really not a whole lot of warning before you reach that cliff, and even a moment of inattention could cause you to go off the edge."

Paramedics said it took 30 minutes to climb down the cliff to get to Aiken, who was dead with severe head injuries when they arrived. Police waited until Sunday to retrieve the vehicle because the decent was too steep and dangerous to make in the dark, Bailey said.