Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The person who was killed in a crash off West Cliff Drive Thursday morning has been identified as a University of California, Santa Cruz student.
One person has died and another was injured after a vehicle drove off West Cliff Drive on Thursday morning, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department.
The incident was reported around 12:50 a.m. after Santa Cruz Regional 911 received a call reporting that a vehicle had driven off a cliff and into the ocean on West Cliff Drive near Steamer Lane.
Once first responders arrived at the scene, they found one victim who had gotten out of the car.
Rescue swimmers from Santa Cruz Fire went into the water to search for the other victim, who was reported to be inside the car.
That victim was removed from the submerged vehicle. Swimmers then confirmed there were no additional victims inside the car.
The victim who got out of the vehicle suffered minor injuries, according to Santa Cruz Fire.
The victim extracted from the vehicle was taken to a nearby medical facility and later died at the hospital.
On Friday, UC Santa Cruz said the person killed was a student at the university.
In a statement given to KSBW, the university said, "We were heartbroken to learn that the victim was a UC Santa Cruz student. Our deepest condolences go out to the student’s family and friends during this difficult time. We are providing support resources to those affected by this tragedy. The investigation is being handled by the Santa Cruz Police Department."
The cause of the crash is under investigation, and there are no further details to share at this time.
All five units from Santa Cruz Fire responded to the incident, along with three units from the Central Fire District, a battalion chief from Scotts Valley Fire and the Santa Cruz Police Department.
The person who was killed in a crash off West Cliff Drive Thursday morning has been identified as a University of California, Santa Cruz student.
One person has died and another was injured after a vehicle drove off West Cliff Drive on Thursday morning, according to the Santa Cruz Fire Department.
The incident was reported around 12:50 a.m. after Santa Cruz Regional 911 received a call reporting that a vehicle had driven off a cliff and into the ocean on West Cliff Drive near Steamer Lane.
Once first responders arrived at the scene, they found one victim who had gotten out of the car.
Rescue swimmers from Santa Cruz Fire went into the water to search for the other victim, who was reported to be inside the car.
That victim was removed from the submerged vehicle. Swimmers then confirmed there were no additional victims inside the car.
The victim who got out of the vehicle suffered minor injuries, according to Santa Cruz Fire.
The victim extracted from the vehicle was taken to a nearby medical facility and later died at the hospital.
On Friday, UC Santa Cruz said the person killed was a student at the university.
In a statement given to KSBW, the university said, "We were heartbroken to learn that the victim was a UC Santa Cruz student. Our deepest condolences go out to the student’s family and friends during this difficult time. We are providing support resources to those affected by this tragedy. The investigation is being handled by the Santa Cruz Police Department."
The cause of the crash is under investigation, and there are no further details to share at this time.
All five units from Santa Cruz Fire responded to the incident, along with three units from the Central Fire District, a battalion chief from Scotts Valley Fire and the Santa Cruz Police Department.
