Woman Stung Hundreds of Times by Bees

A 77-year-old woman was stung hundreds of times by a swarm of bees Sunday at a senior housing complex in Lake Forest and remains in guarded condition at a hospital.

Doctors at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center were awaiting lab results to determine whether the woman was stung by Africanized honeybees--the so-called killer bees--or domestic bees, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Bear.

Authorities said the woman was stung mostly in the face, neck and upper body.

“She’s in guarded condition and has suffered an allergic reaction,” Bear said.

Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Paul Hunter said firefighters were summoned to Freedom Village, an apartment complex for seniors, at 9:15 a.m. and found hundreds of bees swarming over the victim in the driveway.

“Firefighters had to put on protective clothing. . . . They got her to the ambulance quickly,” he said, adding that despite being stung so many times, the woman was conscious.

Madelyne Hanson, a resident at the complex, said she was in her third-floor apartment when she heard the victim’s screams.

Bear said hospital officials were told that the bees were disturbed when workmen removed a side panel from a building at the complex.

Freedom Village administrators did not return calls for comment about the incident.