A 50-year-old man pulled from the lake at the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Recreation Area in Willowbrook was identified Friday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office.
County fire department personnel responded to a report of a possible drowning around 9:10 a.m. Thursday and discovered Ruben Fajardo in the lake at 905 El Segundo Blvd., authorities said.
KTLA5 reported that firefighters in a boat were seen retrieving Fajardo about 30 minutes after being dispatched to the lake.
The medical examiner will determine how Fajardo died.
Community activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable said if Fajardo drowned, it will be the latest in a string of drownings at the lake. Hutchinson on Friday called on county officials to increase safety measures at the park, and particularly at South Lake, as the body of water is commonly known.
Hutchinson also requested additional warning signs and increased surveillance around the lake.
“Unfortunately, the number of drowning victims at the Magic Johnson Park Lake is a signal that more must be done to warn users of the potential hazard at the lake,” Hutchinson said in a statement.