Boy, 2, Drowns After Father Loses Balance in Swift Creek
A 2-year-old Lawndale boy on a family outing near Lake Castaic drowned Sunday after his father lost his balance as he waded in a rain-swollen creek and dropped the toddler into the water, authorities said.
The boy was swept away by the current, which was flowing at at least 20 m.p.h., Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mike Carrick said. Rescue crews, aided by helicopters, searched for nearly three hours after being called about 2:45 p.m.
The body of Robert Diaz Jr. was found caught among reeds and rocks about half a mile downstream from where he fell into the creek, which runs through Lake Elizabeth Canyon along Lake Hughes Road, about one mile north of Lake Castaic, authorities said.
“It’s normally just a small creek, but right now it’s a pretty good-sized river,” Carrick said.
Paramedics applied cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the boy was being flown by helicopter to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, but the toddler was declared dead soon after he arrived.
The boy’s family was on an outing when the accident happened, Carrick said. Deputies identified the child’s father as Robert Diaz, 29, of Lawndale.
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