A Bitter Irony

Ruth Guth decided to take golf lessons at the Westchester Golf Course near her home so she could share a common interest with her husband. Recently retired, John Guth was an avid golfer who hoped his wife would share his passion for the game.

But in a tragic and ironic turn of fate, her golf teacher, Watson Cromwell Dobbs Jr., was driving a sports car Monday night that swerved into oncoming traffic in Playa del Rey and slammed head-on into another vehicle, killing Guth and her husband, sister and mother.

Dobbs, 56, was arrested Monday night on suspicion of drunk driving, police said. Witnesses told investigators that Dobbs’ Porsche 928 was speeding.

Police identified the dead as John Guth, 69, of Westchester; Ruth Guth, 66; her sister, Mary Maher, 69, of Erie, Pa., a nun; and the women’s mother, Florence Maher of Oil City, Pa., 93.

The four victims had spent Monday night celebrating two big family events--the Guths’ 46th wedding anniversary and Florence Maher’s birthday, which had been Sunday, relatives said. They were returning to the Guths’ Westchester home when the crash occurred.

The celebration was the culmination of a 10-day visit to Los Angeles for Mary and Florence Maher. They were scheduled to depart Tuesday on a 9 a.m. flight to Pennsylvania.

Shortly before the crash, the four visited the Guths’ daughter, Jane Park.

“They stopped by . . . for hugs, kisses and saying goodbye,” Park said. “Grandma hinted it was probably her last visit to Los Angeles. They had had a wonderful visit here.”

Park said Mary Maher was of the Benedictine order of nuns. She worked with single mothers, trying to help them get off welfare.

The Guths lived near Loyola Marymount University in a tree-lined, middle-class neighborhood. Neighbors said John Guth recently retired and turned the day-to-day operation of his Montebello plastics factory over to a son. His wife was a devout Catholic who was very involved with her parish church, Visitation Roman Catholic Church.

She had been taking golf lessons from Dobbs, who is a teaching pro at the golf course, relatives said. Dobbs was in serious but stable condition at UCLA Medical Center, authorities said Tuesday.

The accident was the second fatal crash in a week in Los Angeles County in which several family members were killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Last Friday, a family of six was killed near Compton when a man speeding in a pickup truck ran a red light, police said. He lost control of his truck and slammed into the parked car where the six family members were eating tacos. Carlos Granados Gallardo; his wife, Magdalena Lopez, and their four children were all killed.

Jane Park recalls her mother reading about the crash and saying, “How sad, how tragic.”

Park said somberly: “Who would have thought this would have happened to us.”

Monday night’s crash occurred near the intersection of Jefferson and Lincoln boulevards in Playa del Rey. Dobbs was traveling north on Lincoln, and the victims’ Mazda 929 was traveling south.

After the crash, Dobbs was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, but he has not yet been booked because of his medical condition, police said Tuesday.

All the victims were wearing seat belts. Three died at the scene, and Ruth Guth died at UCLA Medical Center.

Dobbs has worked as a golf instructor for seven years, the last five at the Westchester public golf course, relatives said. Before his golf career, Dobbs owned a carpet manufacturing company in East Los Angeles.

Dobbs’ two adult sons defended their father.

“He’s not somebody who would go out drinking and speeding,” said Marc Dobbs, 22. “A glass of wine at dinner-type deal. But he’s very responsible.”

Dobbs said his father was going to visit a friend in Marina del Rey when the accident occurred. The suspect’s two sons and his ex-wife, Patricia, visited him at the hospital shortly after the accident, and said he was groggy and unable to recount the incident.

The sons said their father sustained two broken legs, a broken nose, a gash on his forehead and injuries to his hands.

Dobbs and his wife divorced in 1990. Patricia Dobbs and the two sons live in the family’s white-and-beige, three-bedroom home near Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Dobbs lives in Playa del Rey.

The sons said their father liked nice cars. Dobbs bought the 1984 burgundy Porsche 928 about 2 1/2 months ago, trading in an older model. Over the years, he had owned an Alpha Romeo Spider and a Cadillac Seville.

The sons said their father is well-known among golfers at the Westchester course.

“He is very well respected,” Brian Dobbs said of his father. “He has a lot of friends.”

Times staff writers Miles Corwin and Andrea Ford contributed to this story.