UCSB student dies following a fall from campus residence hall, family confirms

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A freshman student at UC Santa Barbara died of injuries sustained after a fall from an on-campus residence hall in February.

At 10:26pm on the evening of February 14th, Valentine's Day, emergency responders were called to a medical emergency outside San Rafael Hall, which is on a portion of UCSB's main campus adjacent to Isla Vista.

There, responders found an unconscious woman - later identified as 18-year-old Elizabeth Hamel. It appears to authorities that Elizabeth had in someway gained access to the San Rafael residence hall, and had fallen from a breezeway balcony from an unknown height.

Elizabeth was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment, but could not be immediately identified as her phone and ID were not found at the scene.

Elizabeth's father, Alain Hamel, explains Elizabeth had been spending time with friends that Friday night. Photos taken at 10:05pm show Elizabeth content, enjoying the night.

The events of the next twenty minutes are unclear. Elizabeth somehow found herself at San Rafael Hall, leaving both her phone and ID behind at a bar, according to her father. Elizabeth was a resident of San Miguel Hall, which is on a different part of campus than San Rafael.

Elizabeth was pronounced dead on February 20th.

According to Elizabeth's family, her death remains under investigation and there has been a lack of public acknowledgement made by the university. There's no record of a "timely warning" alert sent out by UC Police, and it's unclear if the university sent an e-mail out to the campus community about any on-campus incidents on February 14th.

On March 1st, a Facebook post by the Pi Beta Phi sorority chapter at UCSB acknowledged Elizabeth's passing.

Your NewsChannel reached out the university for a comment after learning about Elizabeth's passing and received this statement from a spokesperson on Friday, March 21st:

Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the student who passed away last month following an incident on campus. At the time, emergency responders were called to a residence hall for a call of service regarding an unconscious student. Unfortunately, the student passed away. Due to privacy reasons, we are not able to discuss any additional details.

The loss of a member of our community is heartbreaking. The university responds by reaching out to roommates, classmates, friends, faculty, and staff who may be impacted in order to share support resources for those in need.

Elizabeth is remembered by her family and the friends she made during her time at UC Santa Barbara.

Her father Alain describes her as "talented, beautiful, glamorous, intelligent, and funny — all of those things." She was incredibly kind, and "cared so deeply about her friends, always thinking about how to make them happy, how to help them, and how to show up for them."

Elizabeth was undeclared as a freshman, but possibly leaning towards studying biology. She grew up in Washington state, but UC Santa Barbara was her dream school. She was the "happiest she'd been in her life" while at UC Santa Barbara, her father says.

"She was my daughter, my friend, my TV buddy, and my constant source of pride. I miss her with every breath, but I am endlessly grateful for every moment we shared."

The family also shared this short statement with Your News Channel:

Elizabeth Hamel (Liz) is survived by her loving parents, Hema and Alain. They are heartbroken by her passing and feel her absence every moment of every day.