A scared teenager who was almost carried to his death in a fast-moving San Fernando Valley small river was rescued as the boy managed to cling to a dividing wall.
The Pacoima Wash was running with about 2 feet of fast-moving water, and officials said that’s enough to endanger anyone who mistakenly enters the stream. The Pacoima Wash is a tributary of the Tujunga Wash which is a tributary of the Los Angeles River.
The Los Angeles River has seen a number of fatalities from fast-moving water, although usually only during heavy rainstorms.
Nevertheless, despite the fact there was no rain, San Fernando Police Department officers and the Los Angeles Fire Department combined their efforts to rescue the boy clinging onto a dividing wall in the Pacoima Wash Saturday.
Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 11:45 a.m. to the 10700 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
And, around noon, San Fernando police received a call that the teenager was in the wash near Glenoaks Boulevard. Officers dispatched to the scene reported that the child was carried by rapid running water, which was about 2 feet high, the San Fernando Police Department reported.
Officers spotted the teenager, remained with him to keep him calm and worked with the Los Angeles Fire Department to remove the boy from the wash.
“He will be OK, but this is a reminder to everyone to please be sure to not go into the wash, even if there is no water and not to be fooled by only a few inches of water,” a San Fernando police official said. “A few inches of water in the wash can sweep a person off their feet and put them in danger of serious injury or even death.”
—City News Service