A 19-year-old UC Santa Cruz student who died after a car plunged off West Cliff Drive and landed upside down in the ocean Aug. 13 has been identified by a family member as Alli Renee Singh.
Singh’s aunt, Monica Singh-Strohmeier, identified her in a Facebook post announcing her death.
“It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I deliver this news to you,” Singh-Strohmeier wrote.
She said Singh was preparing to begin her third year at UC Santa Cruz.
“Alli was a thriving 19 year old in the midst of starting her 3rd year at UC Santa Cruz,” Singh-Strohmeier wrote. “She was a very smart, beautiful and loving young lady and will be missed by all who crossed her path.”
The family asked for privacy for Singh’s mother and said information about arrangements would be shared when finalized.
According to Santa Cruz Police, Singh was a passenger in a car that went off West Cliff Drive at 12:50am Aug. 13, just east of the Abbott Memorial Lighthouse at Steamer Lane.
Witnesses told emergency dispatchers that the car was fully submerged.
Four rescue swimmers from Santa Cruz Fire entered the ocean and removed her from the submerged car. She was taken to a trauma center, where she was later pronounced dead.
The male driver, who got out of the vehicle on his own, suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.
UC Santa Cruz police officers were called to the scene because Singh was a university student, university spokesman Scott Hernandez-Jason said.
“We were heartbroken to learn that the victim was a UC Santa Cruz student,” he said in an email. “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.”
