A 21-year-old UCLA student is being mourned by her sorority and university community after she died in an accidental fall in Washington state last week.
Dayanara Nicole Urbina Ruiz fell from an open window of a building along Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail on July 30. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed her death was accidental and resulted from multiple blunt force injuries, according to reporting from Seattle television station KING 5.
At the time of her death, Ruiz was working as a summer marketing intern at Amazon Web Services in Seattle. She was a communications major at UCLA and held several leadership and membership roles on campus. She served as co-president of the university’s first fashion club and was an active member of the Phi Lambda Rho sorority.
Sorority and Family Share Tributes
News of Ruiz’s death prompted an outpouring of grief from her sorority sisters. In a tribute posted to the organization’s Instagram account, Phi Lambda Rho described her as someone whose warmth and generosity left a lasting mark on everyone she encountered.
The post noted that she was consistently there for people who needed support, offering comfort without being asked. Sorority members wrote that her memory would remain part of their sisterhood going forward, and they extended condolences to her family, friends, and fellow chapter members during this time.
Ruiz’s family has echoed similar sentiments, describing her in a fundraising post as someone with a warm and gentle presence who never hesitated to help others.
The Burke-Gilman Trail, where the accident occurred, is a nearly 20-mile pathway that runs through Seattle and is heavily used by walkers, runners, and cyclists.
Family Launches Fundraiser for Funeral Costs
Following Ruiz’s death, her family started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses. The fundraiser has a goal of $24,000 and had raised more than $20,000 as of this week, reflecting significant support from friends, classmates, and members of the public moved by her story.
On the fundraising page, the family thanked everyone who had already contributed or kept Ruiz in their thoughts and prayers, saying the outpouring of support had meant a great deal to them during an extremely difficult period.
Loved ones say Ruiz’s impact will continue to be felt through the people she supported and the communities she was part of, both within her sorority and across UCLA more broadly. As details about the circumstances of her fall remain limited, her family and friends are focusing on celebrating her memory and the kindness she was known for throughout her life.
