Dennis RomeroTwo children and an adult who might be their mom were hospitalized in grave condition today after they were pulled from a Hollywood Boulevard motel swimming pool by a good Samaritan, an L.A Fire Department spokesman said.
The “young” kids, possibly a boy and a girl, and the woman were in swimming attire when the children got in trouble in the deep end of the pool and the female tried to rescue them, the LAFD's Brian Humphrey told us.
A person described as a passerby and good Samaritan saw the commotion and pulled the three from the pool, he said:
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That man, however, was gone when firefighters arrived, and they'd like to track him down to “thank him,” Humphrey said.
The accident was reported at 3:34 p.m., he said. “All three submerged,” Humphrey said of the victims. Whomever reported the incident didn't speak English, he said.
The three were pulled from the water in a “nonbreathing” state and were in “grave” condition, he said: “It would be fair to say all three are fighting for their lives.”
The kids were taken to nearby Childrens Hopsital Los Angeles in Hollywood. A spokesman there said he couldn't comment on their condition.
The woman believed to be their mother was taken to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where she was last reported to be in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman told us.
A man believed to be the father and two other siblings were at the scene, Humphrey said. A crisis team from the L.A. mayor's office was en route to meet them at a hospital and offer them counseling, he said.
Police arrived at the motel at 3:50 p.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman said. Cops appeared to be investigating the situation, but so far it appeared no foul play was suspected.
[Added at 5:10 p.m.]: Humphrey stated in an email update that “pool was 7.5 feet at deepest point;
Fenced with safety (“no lifeguard”) placarding in place.”
[Update at 11:48 p.m.]: Humphrey says the woman, reportedly 36, jumped in with her street clothes on to try to save the children, an 11-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl.
The good Samaritan recently learned CPR, he said.
According to ABC Eyewitness News the father was at a nearby Thai restaurant when he heard a siren and ran to the scene, only to erupt in hysterics.
It was reported that none of the three people, the woman and children, could swim.
[Update at 5:09 p.m. Wednesday]: LAPD Officer Jane Kim tells us the boy, 11, has started breathing on his own. His sister and the mother were on life support, she said.
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