Doctors Try to Save Little Boy’s Leg

Doctors at UCLA Medical Center worked Wednesday to save the leg of a 3-year-old Santa Clarita boy who fell in front of a rotary lawn mower while his father was cutting the grass, officials said.

Matthew Kohlhepp was flown by air ambulance to UCLA with his leg partly amputated at the knee. The boy’s father, Rob Kohlhepp--a Culver City paramedic--was doing yard work shortly after noon when Matthew slipped and fell and the blades partly severed his leg.

“His dad controlled the bleeding until we got there, so he didn’t lose that much blood,” said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Glenn Goulet, who was among the first on the scene. “We started an IV and stabilized him as best we could, then airlifted him to UCLA.”

The hospital would not release information on Matthew’s condition, at his parents’ request.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies found a large bone fragment in the mower’s grass catcher, Goulet said. Because all county fire helicopters were in use, the bone was wrapped in a damp cloth and flown by sheriff’s helicopter to the hospital, Goulet said.