Young Man Falls from Isla Vista Cliffs

A 19-year-old Santa Barbara City College student suffered major injuries Sunday night after falling from the Isla Vista cliffs. Members of the I.V. Foot Patrol were riding their bicycles by Walter Capps Park on the 6700 block of Del Playa Drive around 10:30 p.m. when they saw Anthony Palleschi run and jump over the fence separating the park from the cliffs and then fall over the edge, Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover said in a statement.

The officers ran to the nearest set of stairs leading down to the beach and found the student facedown in the surf. He appeared to have major head trauma, but the rising tide forced them to move Palleschi up the beach. He was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment. Why Palleschi jumped the fence and fell remains unknown.

Editor’s Note: This story was corrected to state the Foot Patrol was on bicycles, not walking, when officers first saw Palleschi, and also that he jumped the fence, not the cliff.