Maid Drowns, Baby Injured in 2 Pool Accidents

A maid drowned in Hidden Hills and an 18-month-old baby was critically injured in Canyon Country in separate swimming pool accidents Friday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The body of the 30-year-old woman, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, was found face down in a back-yard pool in the 24500 block of Long Valley Road about 12:30 p.m., sheriff’s Deputy Bill Wehner said. The drowning apparently was accidental, but homicide detectives are investigating, Wehner said.

In Canyon Country, Britni Gage, 18 months, fell into a swimming pool in the 28000 block of Parkridge Lane while her mother was speaking on the telephone, sheriff’s Lt. Harvey Cantor said. Anita Gage discovered the girl lying on the pool bottom about 2 p.m. She jumped in, pulled out her daughter and called the 911 emergency number.

Deputy William Harrison told Gage how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics arrived just minutes later from a fire station a few blocks away on Soledad Canyon Road. By the time deputies arrived, Cantor said, a paramedic was racing out of the house with the girl in his arms.

The paramedic jumped into the back seat of the patrol car and tried to revive the baby as deputies raced 8 miles to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital. Cantor said other sheriff’s units blocked off major intersections to clear a path for the deputies and paramedics.

The girl was later transferred to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.