Attention Turns to Hours Before Noah Krom's Death
We told you yesterday about the tragic death of 22-year-old Noah Krom, the eldest son of Irvine's Solly Krom and City Councilwoman and announced congressional candidate Beth Krom. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's investigators are now trying to piece together the events that took the UC Santa Barbara senior to the steep cliff he eventually fell off of before plunging to his death on the Isla Vista beach below Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Noah Krom
The Santa Barbara County Coroner's Office has not released a cause of death. Toxicology results are not yet available. Meanwhile, authorities are piecing together Krom's activities before reaching the cliffs, which are notorious for producing falls, sometimes fatal.
"We're trying to retrace the last 12 hours of his life," Sheriff's Department spokesman Drew Sugars told the Santa Barbara News-Press. (You need to log in to read it.) "We're trying to find out, Where was he? Who talked to him last? Just trying to piece it together to find out how he ended up at the bottom of the cliff."
With little else to go on from official sources, the Santa Barbara media has also tried to piece together those final hours. None of the following has been confirmed by authorities.
KCOY-TV/Channel 12 began its report by saying Kron had been drinking with friends Friday night. He later caught a cab, according to witnesses.
Student Nathan Halverson told KSBY-TV/Channel 6 Action News his roommates spotted Krom running by in the area near the cliffs.
"Apparently, he was just running away from a cab driver that brought him back from downtown I'm guessing, and he didn't want to pay his fare or something," Halverson said. "My friend saw him run through here and then hop this fence."
The fence was meant to keep people away from the perilous cliffs hanging over the hard beach below.
KCOY interviewed a young woman who confirmed what Halverson told the other station. She said she and some friends saw Krom dart by and hop a fence leading to the cliffs. He was soon followed by a cab driver searching for someone. The woman says her group heard Krom land on the beach below and peered over to make sure he was okay but could not see anything in the darkness.Sugars told KSBY, "There's a danger out there. We're always reminding people to be very careful, especially at night when the visibility is poor."
Many homes in the area reportedly have signs warning about the cliffs. One of the stations reported this is at least the fifth time this school year someone has fallen from those cliffs, although the first fatality.
The occupants of the home nearest where Krom fell had no idea what had happened until informed by sheriff's deputies Saturday morning.
According to the Orange County Register, Krom grew up in Irvine and attended Vista Verde school and University High School. He pursued a degree in business economics and sports management at UC Santa Barbara. He studied abroad in Cordoba, Spain, during his junior year. Graduation was next week.
"For that to happen with one week left, it's tragic," Halverson told KSBY.
|
|
Write Comment 
| Share |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
