Central Coast woman dies at Lake Nacimiento after falling off tube, park rangers say

Stephanie Zappelli
·1 min read

Monterey County Parks is investigating the death of a Santa Barbara woman at Lake Nacimiento, the agency said.

According to initial reports collected by the agency, the woman was “a passenger on a tube being towed behind a personal watercraft and fell off” on July 9, Monterey County Parks spokesperson Maia Carroll wrote in an email to The Tribune.

A private boater who is an emergency medical technician performed CPR on the woman — identified Tuesday by the San Luis Obispo County coroner as 57-year-old Luz Ruiz — until emergency responders arrived at the scene, Carroll said.

Monterey County Parks rangers continued performing CPR on Ruiz as they transported her by boat to the Main Launch Ramp at the Nacimiento Resort, according to Carroll.

Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene, Carroll said.

“The investigation is ongoing and cause of death has not yet been determined,” Carroll wrote in the email.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol’s Air Operations Unit and San Luis Ambulance also responded to the scene.

While Monterey County Parks is investigating the incident, the SLO County coroner is investigating the death, a Sheriff’s Office watch commander told The Tribune on Monday.