The UCLA community is mourning the loss of a first-generation college student who had been interning at Amazon in Seattle when she died unexpectedly.Dayanara Nicole Urbina Ruiz, 21, died July 30 from multiple blunt force trauma injuries in what local officials have ruled an accident, according to the King County medical examiner’s office. Local TV station KING-5 reported that Urbina Ruiz was injured when she fell out of a window onto a popular hiking trail. The rising senior at UCLA had been in Seattle working as a marketing intern for Amazon Web Services. She was member of the university’s Phi Lambda Rho sorority, which celebrates Latina and Chicana women. “Dayanara was a bright light, a gentle soul, and someone whose kindness touched everyone around her,” the sorority shared in a memorial post. “Her memory will forever remain a part of our sisterhood, and her impact will continue to live on through the lives she touched.”Her family has started a fundraiser to help finance a funeral service.Urbina Ruiz was “always there for anyone in need and ready to help,” the family wrote in the GoFundMe, which had raised almost $25,000 as of Thursday afternoon. She inspired “hope … that all dreams may be reached.”The College Track nonprofit posted that Urbina Ruiz was a scholar with the program, which supports first-generation students from under-resourced communities in earning a bachelor’s degree. She graduated from high school in 2023. The Seattle Police Department confirmed that it had responded to a call about her death on July 30 and said the case remained with its homicide unit, though it has been ruled accidental. Officers found Urbina Ruiz and attempted to perform CPR, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a statement from police. They declined to share further details about the case but shared some information that indicated alcohol might have played a role in the incident, according to remarks made to first responders.Urbina Ruiz’s mother told NBC4 that she would like a more thorough investigation into her daughter’s death. Montana MacLachlan, an Amazon spokesperson, said the company was “deeply saddened by the passing of one of our Amazon colleagues.”“We offer our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones,” McLachlan said in a statement. “We’re focused on providing support and resources to her family and her team during this difficult time.”
