Local News in Brief : East L.A. Man Drowns After Lifeguard Leaves Pyramid Lake

An East Los Angeles man drowned Friday in a treacherous part of Pyramid Lake less than an hour after the lake’s lifeguard left for the day, authorities said Saturday.

Jesus Jimenez, 31, was pronounced dead at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital about an hour after he was found lying face down on the lake bottom, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Shoemaker said.

Friends saw Jimenez call for help and go under shortly before 5:30 p.m., said Shoemaker, who tried unsuccessfully to save the victim after pulling him from the water.

Jimenez had been swimming in a cove of the lake, 25 miles north of Castaic, where swimming and boating are banned because of the steep incline of the lake’s floor, Shoemaker said.

Jimenez was only 10 yards from shore but was found in 20 feet of water, the deputy said.

A lifeguard employed by the company that administers the lake for the U.S. Forest Service left the lake when his workday ended at 4:45 p.m., Shoemaker said. Had the incident occurred an hour earlier, the lifeguard probably would have prevented him from venturing into the deep cove, he said.

Jimenez’s consumption of a considerable amount of food about 20 minutes before entering the water might have contributed to his drowning, Shoemaker said. Swimming on a full stomach can cause stomach cramps that can tire a swimmer, he said.