A man was critically injured after falling around 40 feet down a cliff in Isla Vista on Saturday night, according to Santa Barbara County Fire spokesperson Captain Scott Safechuck.
The incident occurred around 10:50 p.m. on the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive, where the unidentified man fell “from a party patio to the beach rocks below,” Safechuck said.
Santa Barbara County Fire, the Sheriff’s Office, and AMR responded to the scene, and secured the patient in a “litter basket” stretcher to carry him up the beach access stairs, Safechuck said. The patient was transported by AMR to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
County Supervisor Laura Capps, who represents the district and has pushed for improved safety around the bluffs, called Saturday’s fall “another terrifying reminder of how dangerous these cliffs can be.
“With the school year beginning next week, it’s critical that all — landlords, tenants, County agencies, UCSB, SBCC, IVCSD [Isla Vista Community Services District], and the entire community — work together now to strengthen cliff safety,” Capps continued. “I am praying for this man’s full recovery.”
This weekend’s fall comes two years to the month after the fatal cliff fall of 19-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Benjamin “Benny” Schurmer. His death sparked a countywide effort led by Supervisor Capps to improve bluff safety in I.V., including raising fence heights around the cliffs.
Since that safety plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors in 2023, one other person has died in a cliff-related accident: 23-year-old San Diego resident and UCSB alum Jacob William Aladar Parker, who died after falling from the cliffs below 6625 Del Playa Drive while in town for the all-weekend All Gaucho Reunion. His death was the 14th cliff-related death in 30 years.
Editor’s Note: Jacob William Aladar Parker was the 14th cliff-related death in the past 30 years, not 20 as originally reported.
