Boy, 6, Dies After Becoming Tangled in Back Yard Swing

A 6-year-old boy was killed Saturday afternoon when his neck became tangled in the ropes of a makeshift back yard swing and he hanged himself, police said.

The boy, Jay Correa, was found hanging in the ropes in the back yard of his family’s home just before 1 p.m. by his older brother, said Sgt. Dick Faust of the Santa Ana Police Department.

Faust said the death has been determined to be accidental, but remains under investigation by Santa Ana police and the Orange County coroner’s division.

“It appears that the victim was playing on a makeshift swing made by a rope tied to a tree branch,” Faust said. “At some point, he became entangled and rendered himself unconscious.” The accident occurred outside the family’s home in the 1200 block of Douglas Street. Jay apparently had been playing by himself in the back yard when he became ensnared in the ropes, Faust said.

He was found by his older brother, who called their mother, Esther Correa, 31, for help, Faust said.

When police officers arrived, they found the boy unconscious, lying on the living room floor, Faust said. The boy was taken by paramedics to UCI Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:39 p.m.

Family members and relatives gathered at the Douglas Street home throughout the afternoon Saturday to offer condolences. The boy is one of three children in the Correa family.

David Correa, the boy’s uncle, lives at the home and attempted to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to get him breathing again but it was too late, he said.

“I was sleeping in my room when my mom called me,” said a distraught David Correa, choking back tears. “I saw his mom cradling him in her arms, talking to him, saying ‘Why do you do this?’ ”

Times staff writer Quyen Do contributed to this report.