5 Sheriff’s Deputies Stricken by Dizziness

Five Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, mysteriously stricken by nausea and dizziness during a routine traffic stop in Carson, were released Thursday from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where tests failed to explain the illnesses.

The deputies took ill about 11 p.m. Wednesday after stopping a suspected drunk driver near the intersection of Alameda and Dominguez streets, according to a sheriff’s spokesman. The officers became too ill to cite the driver or even make their own way to a hospital, the spokesman said.

After the deputies were taken by paramedics to the hospital, county fire and health investigators speculated that the illnesses were caused by gas from a railroad tanker car near the intersection. However, no official explanation was given for the incident.

“We don’t know what caused it,” said county Fire Capt. Roger Sorenson. “You could speculate all you want about the cause, with all the industry in Carson. But it’s all unexplained so far.”