[Updated: Wed., Dec. 3, 2025, 8:12am]
A 17-year-old Santa Barbara native died on Saturday due to injuries sustained in a skateboarding accident on Thanksgiving Day while visiting friends with his family in Palos Verdes, CA.
Born on June 8, 2008, Tayden Tomblin was a lifelong resident of S.B.’s Westside, where he learned to love the outdoors, and a senior at San Marcos High School, where he would have graduated with honors as a member of the National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation this year.
He is the son of Tyler and Rosalyn Tomblin, both widely known in the Santa Barbara community, and the brother of 13-year-old Hudzyn, a student at La Colina Junior High.
At San Marcos High, Tayden was a swimmer, played water polo, attended the Entrepreneur Academy, and finished the Culinary Academy to become a teaching assistant. Finding his peace in nature, Tomblin enjoyed exploring the mountains and sea, from backpacking to tidepooling, and became proficient as a sport and spear fisherman. He volunteered at the Sea Center, where he loved to educate people on the wet-deck about the creatures of the sea.
He also loved to surf and skateboard. Following the Thanksgiving Day accident, Tayden never regained consciousness nor recovered brain function while under treatment at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
“The neuro team was confident that he didn’t suffer or feel pain,” said his parents. “He passed away quickly, doing what he loved.“
Per his wishes, Tayden donated his organs to others in need. On Saturday night, a large contingent of the Tomblins’ friends and family members from Santa Barbara and elsewhere gathered at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to participate in Tayden’s “walk of honor,” when he was moved from the ICU to the organ donation center.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help the family with expenses related to Tayden’s death. Click here to donate. There will be a paddle out in his honor of Wednesday, December 10, 3:30 p.m. at East Beach.
