Man rescued by family after near-drowning in San Gabriel River in Azusa


A man escaped serious injury thanks to family members who pulled him from the San Gabriel River following a near-drowning in Azusa on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
The mishap took place about 5:15 p.m. as the man was swimming with his family in the river along San Gabriel Canyon Road, near the bicycle trail, at the northern end of the city, according to Azusa police Sgt. Jorge Sandoval.
The victim, described as a Los Angeles man in his early-20s, went into the water on an inflatable raft, police said.
“The male subject fell off the raft and was submerged under water for a short period of time,” Sandoval said in a written statement. “Family members were eventually able to assist the male subject out of the water.”
Paramedics took the man to a hospital for evaluation, Sandoval said. He was conscious and alert.
Sandoval said the police department reminds the public that swimming in that portion of the river, which is private property, is both prohibited and perilous.
“Trespassers are subject to arrest,” he said. “Additionally, the water currents within this area of the riverbed are extremely dangerous and not designated for swimming or water sports.”

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Girl freed from car trunk at Arcadia shopping mall


ARCADIA >> A was rescued unharmed after she locked herself, inside the trunk of a car at a mall in Arcadia on Sunday afternoon, along with the car keys, authorities said.
The mishap was first reported about 3:50 p.m. at the Westfield Santa Anita shopping mall, 400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia Fire Department Battalion Chief Cory Cerwin said.
The girl was witha family member when she decided to climb into the trunk, he said. She pulled the lid closed.
“She happened to have the keys to the car as well,” the battalion chief said.
The family member called authorities for help.
The doors of the car remained unlocked, allowing firefighters to access the passenger compartment, Cerwin said.
The girl was ultimately freed after an opening was pried between the trunk and the passenger compartment, allowing the girl to pass the keys through, officials said
Paramedics examined the girl once she was freed, he said. She was “a little sweaty,” but uninjured.
Cerwin said the car as equipped with a button allowing the trunk to be opened from within, but it wqs not working.

*NOTE: This story has been updated to correct inaccurate information provided by the Arcadia Fire Department.

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2-year-old girl rushed to hospital after near-drowning in Covina

COVINA >> Rescuers flew a 2-year-old girl to a hospital on Saturday following a near-drowning in a backyard swimming pool in Covina, officials said.
The little girl was “conscious and breathing” when paramedics rushed her to a hospital by helicopter for treatment following the 5:30 p.m. incident at a home in the 200 block of E. Hurst Street, Covina police Lt. Trevor Gaumer said.
The details of the apparent accident remained under investigation, he said. It appeared the girl briefly slipped away from supervision before ending up underwater in the backyard pool.
Officials took the girl to nearby Kelby Park, where a rescue helicopter was landed to rush her to a hospital.
Her injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, the lieutenant said.

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VIDEO: Officials rescue bear cub with jar stuck on head in La Verne


LA VERNE >> Police and animal control officials freed a bear cub who got his head stuck in a plastic jar in an adorable act of heroism caught on video early Saturday.
Officers first received a report about 8:30 a.m. that the young bear was spotted wandering with its head stuck in a large plastic jar in the 2500 block of Jasmine Court, La Verne police officials said.
They encountered the animal hopelessly stuck in the jar after apparently stealing itself a snack.
Police Officer David Weaver held the bear as a California Department of Fish and Wildlife official carefully cut the jar off, as depicted in a video posted to the La Verne Polcie Department’s Facebook page.
Once free, the cub immediately scampered up a tree, ultimately making its way back to the wilderness.
The cub’s mother kept a watchful eye over the rescue effort from a vantage point atop a nearby tree, Lt. Monica Schusse said.
Officials kept close tabs on the mother bear, as well, in case she became aggressive with the rescuers, but she didn’t interfere.

VIDEO/PHOTO courtesy of the La Verne Police Department

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Video: Deputies pull suicidal teen from bridge in Pico Rivera


PICO RIVERA >> Two quick-thinking deputies grabbed hold of a distraught teenage girl who was poised to jump from a train bridge in Pico Rivera on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident began shortly after 11 a.m. p.m. near Rivera Road and Passons Boulevard, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.
Deputies Cuauhtemoc Gonzalez, Michael Stocz, Brandon Longoria and Daniel Padilla responded to a report of a young woman possible preparing to jump from the bridge when they encountered the girl, “Who was leaning over a 25-foot drop to the street below,” Lt. Alex Villanueva said in a written statement. Gonzalez blocked traffic in the area as Stocz and Longoria approached the troubled teen from one side of the bridge, while Padilla approached from the other.
The young woman perched precariously on the outside of the safety railing.
“After waiting for a train to pass, deputies Stocz and Longoria approached, asking her if they could move closer to talk to her,’ Villanueva said.
After getting within about 50 feet of the distraught teen, Stocz began speaking with her. They talked for about 10 minutes, and the girl relayed she was suicidal due to the recent death of a close friend.
After young woman tossed a piece of paper onto the railroad tracks, later determined to be a suicide note, Stocz asked her for permission to read the note, and she agreed, allowing him an opportunity to move within a few feet of her.
“At this point, the young woman had her arms fully extended, eyes closed and her face was looking upwards,” Villanueva said. “Deputy Stocz lunged forward and grabbed both of her arms. Deputy Longoria moved quickly to assist Deputy Stocz, and they were able to pull her over the railing and on to the ground, where she was detained. “
Officials took the teen to receive help at an area hospital.
The incident was captured on the dash cam of a patrol car.
Sheriff’ Jim McDonnell praised the deputies for their actions.
“Every day, our deputies perform acts of quiet courage and compassion that are rarely seen and almost never captured on video,” he said. “This is a positive reminder of the commitment that law enforcement makes every day to save the lives of others”.

VIDEO courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

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Deputies credited with saving life of 7-year-old boy who collapsed at school in La Puente


LA PUENTE >> Two sheriff’s deputies are credited with helping save a 7-year-old boy’s live after he collapsed and stopped breathing at school in La Puente on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The medical emergency was first reported just after 9 a.m. at Sunset Elementary School, 800 Tonopah Ave., Capt. Tim Murakami of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s Industry Station.
“Fortunately, deputies got there within two minutes and they immediately started CPR,” the captain said.
The child was still not breathing when deputies Tim Jennison and Mike Lopez turned him over to the care of arriving paramedics, who rushed him to a hospital, Murakami said.
To the relief of the deputies, “They were able to revive him at the hospital,” the captain said. “He’s now in stable condition.”
Emergency room doctors credited the swift response of the deputies with saving the boy’s life, he said.

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Police snatch suicidal man from edge of bridge in El Monte

EL MONTE >> Police pulled a distraught man from the edge of a bridge spanning the San Gabriel River as he was preparing to jump on Saturday afternoon, authorities said.
Officers received a report about noon that a “suicidal subject” was seen on the exterior ledge of the Valley Boulevard bridge, just west of the 605 Freeway, El Monte police officials said in a written statement.
“Officer Fullington immediately established dialogue with the man, who was visibly distraught, while Officers approached from out of the man’s sight and were able to successfully gain physical control of the him and prevent him from going over,” according to the statement. “The officers’ quick thinking and training helped prevent what could have been a tragic situation.”
The main was taken to receive help, Lt. Ernie Cramer said.

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Coast Guard searches for possible downed aircraft in ocean near Redondo Beach


REDONDO BEACH >> The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search operation Saturday after receiving reports that an aircraft had possibly gone down in the Pacific Ocean near Redondo Beach, authorities said.
Coast Guard officials based in the USCG’s Los Angeles-Long Beach Sector received a distress call from an aircraft’s emergency location transmitter beacon about 11:45 a.m., USCG officials said in a written statement. The possible emergency was believed to have occurred about two miles north of the Redondo Beach Harbor.
“Shortly after the initial notification, several witnesses reported seeing an oil sheen on the surface of the water near the Redondo Beach Harbor entrance,” according to the statement.
A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a 45-foot rescue boat began searching the area, with help from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and Baywatch Redondo Beach. No crash site had been located Saturday afternoon.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the USCG at 310-521-3805.

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Police talk distraught woman down from Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena


PASADENA >> Police crisis negotiators spent two hours persuading a distraught woman to return to safety and accept help after she threatened to jump from the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena late Saturday, officials said.
The incident began about 10:15 p.m. when officers responded to a Pasadena home to investigate reports of an argument between a man and a woman, Pasadena police Lt. Mark Goodman said.
Police discovered the woman had been involved in an argument with her husband, he said. The woman, who officers recognized from a previous suicide attempt at the Colorado Street Bridge, got into her car and drove away once police arrived. Police then learned she had told her husband she was suicidal.
“Officers suspected she may be going to the bridge,” Goodman said. “Their suspicions were correct.”
Police found the woman clinging to the outside of the safety railing along the south side of the fence along the iconic 144-foot-tall bridge.
Police crisis negotiators, as well as members of the department’s Homeless Outreach-Psychiatric Evaluation Team responded to speak with the woman.
“(They) spoke with her for about two hours and convinced her to climb back over to the safety of the bridge,” Goodman said.
The woman was taken to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

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Woman, stubborn dog rescued from deep ravine in Angeles National Forest above Altadena

ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST >> A mountain rescue team rescued a woman and her aviophobic dog after they became trapped at the base of 800-foot-deep ravine in the Angeles National Forest north of Altadena on Friday, authorities said.
Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Altadena Mountain Rescue Team responded to reports of a distressed hiker about 3:30 p.m., sheriff’s officials said in a written statement.
“Sheriff’s Air Rescue 5 located a female adult hiker just south of Mueller Tunnel, off Mt. Lowe Fire Road, approximately 800 feet over the side of the cliff,” according to the statement.
Rescuers hoisted the woman into the helicopter and took her to a hospital for treatment of hypothermia.
The woman had been hiking with her 40-pound pit bull mix, named Zeus. But the flight crew was not able to capture the dog and were forced to leave it behind as they tended to its owner.
Montrose Search & Rescue Team members joined in the endeavor, and two rescuers were lowered to the dog be helicopter.
“A second attempt was made to secure the dog in a harness to be flown out, however the dog was not cooperative and Air 5 left the area,” according to the statement.
The stubborn pet, “didn’t feel like a helicopter ride,” Deputy Dan Paige said via Twitter.
So officials used hundreds of feet of rope to hoist Zeus, and the rescuers, up to the roadway.
The dog, which appeared uninjured, was taken to an animal shelter in Baldwin Park.
A civilian volunteer working on the rescue was injured when a large rock fell about 40 feet, striking him in the head, shoulder, arm and hand, sheriff’s officials said.
“The rock had knocked his headlamp off his helmet and rendered his right hand completely numb,” according to the statement. “The injured rescue team member bandaged his hand and hiked out on his own.”
It was determined at the hospital that the rescuer suffered a fracture and an inch-long laceration to his finger.

PHOTOS courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

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