Teen Dies in Fall From Seaside Cliff

A 19-year-old Camarillo man who was visiting friends in the Santa Barbara County college town of Isla Vista died in a fall from a seaside cliff, officials said Wednesday.

Andrew Litvinchuk apparently fell from a cliff last Thursday but was not found until the next morning, when his body drifted ashore several miles from where he had fallen, said Sgt. Bill Byrne, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department.

Although water was found in Litvinchuk’s lungs, the Santa Barbara coroner determined that he had not drowned but had died from the fall.

Litvinchuk was last seen at a party in the 6600 block of Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista, Byrne said. Officials think he might have been slightly intoxicated, but do not know if that played a factor in his death.

Each year, a handful of people are injured or killed in falls along the seaside cliffs of Del Playa, Byrne said.

A 20-year-old Santa Barbara man was killed in a fall Dec. 20, and a 34-year-old Montecito man was critically injured Monday after falling from a staircase on the cliff, Byrne said.

“The problem is Del Playa is a known area for parties, which draws people there, “ he said. “Then there are these very sheer cliffs, combined with people drinking alcohol and not being very familiar with the danger.”