UC Santa Cruz student dies after vehicle plunges off cliff; the other occupant survived

Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times on Aug 14, 2026

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A University of California, Santa Cruz student died after the vehicle she was in veered off a road near the university, dropped off a seaside cliff and plunged into the Pacific, according to officials.

A second occupant of the vehicle was able to escape from the submerged vehicle, but the woman who died became trapped, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department.

Rescue teams responded to the crash just before 1 a.m. Thursday, and were able to pull the trapped woman from inside the vehicle, but lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, the Fire Department said in a post on Facebook. She was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The other occupant survived and escaped the car, suffering only minor injuries, officials said.

First responders worked in the dark of night on the rescue, sending at least five rescue swimmers into the ocean to pull the woman from the car and confirm there were no other trapped occupants. The car had flipped during the crash, leaving most of the vehicle upside down and underwater, according to a photo shared from the scene.

The car drove off a cliff on West Cliff Drive near Steamer Lane, a popular spot for local surfers. The location is about two miles from UC Santa Cruz’s campus.

Officials didn’t immediately identify the student, but confirmed she had been enrolled at the university.

“We were heartbroken to learn that the victim was a UC Santa Cruz student,” UC Santa Cruz spokesperson Scott Hernandez-Jason wrote in a statement. “Our deepest condolences go out to the student’s family and friends during this difficult time. We are providing support resources to those in our community affected by this tragedy.”

The crash remains under investigation by the Santa Cruz Police Department. A spokesperson for the department said officers are still working to determine the circumstances that led to the crash. She declined to release the names of the victims.