An unidentified college-age man is expected to survive after he fell from the Isla Vista cliffs Friday afternoon. Santa Barbara County Fire personnel responded to the beach below the 6700 block of Del Playa Drive at around 5 p.m. They found the man conscious and transported him to Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries. He was reportedly found below a section of Del Playa Drive that is fenced on its ocean side with a low wooden railing.
The incident comes less than a month after the body of 20-year-old Sierra Markee-Winkler was discovered May 4 on the beach below the cliffs that run along the 6800 block of Del Playa Drive. That stretch of bluffs is also lined with a small fence. While Markee-Winkler’s parents believe their daughter similarly fell, Santa Barbara officials have so far declined to release her exact cause of death. An early examination of Markee-Winkler’s body didn’t reveal injuries typically associated with a fall, and a coroner’s report in the case has not been made public.
According to Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover, there have been seven confirmed fatal falls from the Isla Vista cliffs since 2001. Data on the number of related injuries was not immediately available.