Drowning Victim Identified as City College Student

Solstice festivities claimed the life of Santa Barbara City College student Kevin Whitney last Monday, June 23, according to Santa Barbara police. Whitney, 23, had been drinking with friends and reportedly climbed over a fence to swim in an apartment complex pool. Somebody noticed him unconscious at the bottom of the pool and pulled him out, but 30 hours later, he died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The coroner reported the death as an accidental drowning.

A 2002 graduate of Petaluma High School in Sonoma County, Whitney was a multi-sport athlete who had decided to enter firefighter training. Whitney’s family will hold a memorial service in Petaluma on Tuesday, July 1, and memorial contributions can be made to the Oxnard College Regional Fire Academy Trust & Agency Account, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard 93033, or to the Petaluma High School Athletic Department, 201 Fair St., Petaluma 94952.