Party-Goer Who Fell to His Death Is Identified

A dancing party-goer who fell over a cliff railing in Isla Vista and died was identified Monday as 20-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Clint McDonnell, authorities said.

A coroner’s autopsy conducted Monday listed the cause of death as saltwater drowning, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Burridge said. McDonnell also suffered significant head trauma, including a skull fracture, which could have been fatal, he said.

Results of toxicology tests will not be available for seven to 10 days, Burridge said.

Witnesses at the party in the 6600 block of Del Playa Drive said McDonnell was dancing and jumping as he neared the patio guardrail at the edge of the cliff, Burridge said.

Sheriff’s investigators arrived about 1:30 a.m. Sunday to find McDonnell face-down in knee-deep water.

“He fell 40 to 50 feet,” Burridge said. “He lived on the same street where the party was held, so it should have been apparent that there were cliffs there.”

McDonnell was from the Morgan Hill area of Northern California, authorities said.

His death came a week after four people were killed and another seriously injured a block away when a car ran into them. An 18-year-old UC Santa Barbara freshman has been charged with gross murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving while under the influence of drugs and causing great bodily injury in connection with the Feb. 23 crash.