Woman Killed, 4-Year-Old Son Hurt in Explosion : Tragedy: The 33-year-old may have unintentionally detonated device as she and children searched desert road for recyclables.

A woman scavenging for recyclables along a remote desert road with her two young sons was killed Friday afternoon when something she either picked up or stepped on exploded, authorities said.

The 33-year-old woman, whose name was not released by officials Friday night, was killed instantly, according to Deputy Angie McLaughlin, a spokeswoman at the scene for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The victim’s 4-year-old son was injured in the blast and taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center in Lancaster, where he was listed in stable condition, McLaughlin said.

The woman’s 10-year-old son was not injured.

Although there have been several reports of homemade pipe bombs found by deputies and others in recent years in the Antelope Valley, McLaughlin said it could not be determined if that is what the woman inadvertently came upon.

“She was scavenging for cans and stuff with the two boys when suddenly she either picked up or just stepped on some unknown kind of explosive device,” the deputy said. “We don’t know how it got there or how long it has been there.”

The explosion occurred about 4 p.m., McLaughlin said. The two boys then made their way down the dirt road to the nearby Pearblossom Highway, where they caught the attention of a passing motorist.

The motorist notified the Sheriff’s Department.

“I’ve just never heard of something like this before,” McLaughlin said.

On Friday night, the site where the explosion occurred was lit by bright lights powered by a generator brought to the area by the Sheriff’s Department. About 20 investigators and deputies were examining the scene.

The road the woman and boys were on at the time of blast was V-1, near where it intersects with 106th Street East. There are power lines nearby, but no houses.

The area is shrubby, strewn with sagebrush and littered with trash. A discarded mattress sat alongside the road, as did an oven door, part of a lawn chair and cans. The area, south and west of Palmdale, is obviously used as a local dumping ground.

“They have a big problem with that out here,” McLaughlin said as the officials made numerous measurements at the site and examined the gritty dirt for clues.

The investigators, she said, would likely stay at the scene through the night, continuing their work.