Doctors Cautiously Optimistic About Boy Shot on Freeway

Doctors offered a cautiously optimistic prognosis Monday on the condition of Richard Bautista, the 12-year-old Whittier boy who was shot in the head on the Harbor Freeway in South-Central Los Angeles on his way home from a Dodgers game 11 days ago.

Richard was taken off the ventilator that had been used to help him breathe since he was admitted to Martin Luther King Jr. / Drew Medical Center on Sept. 22, doctors said. In addition, the boy opens his eyes when his name is called, particularly by members of his family.

“By all means, he is still critical,” said Dr. Samuel L. Biggers, one of the hospital’s chief neurologists. “Critical, in that he is not beyond the realm of danger. . . . [Yet] we are able to sound a cautiously triumphant note on his condition for the short term.” He said there is good reason to hope that the boy will live, barring any complications.

As Richard fights for survival, and his family and friends take turns keeping vigil in the lobby outside the intensive care unit, dignitaries have paid visits to the hospital. Mayor Richard Riordan, Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger M. Mahony and members of the Dodgers have stopped by to offer their support, said hospital spokeswoman Dr. Tessie Cleveland.

Richard, a cousin and a friend were southbound on the freeway when a man in a yellow van opened fire on the car in what police called an unprovoked attack. Police are searching for the assailant.