Fall From Sewer Pipe Critically Injures Boy

A 12-year-old Thousand Oaks boy was in critical condition Monday evening after authorities rescued him and four other youths who were injured while playing around an abandoned sewage pipe near Arroyo Conejo in Newbury Park.

The boy, who suffered head injuries and abrasions, was airlifted to Los Robles Regional Medical Center after falling near the Hill Canyon sewage treatment plant south of Wildwood Regional Park, authorities said. Another boy suffered a broken ankle and bruises to his head.

Two other youths were also taken to hospitals, where they were treated for minor injuries, and were expected to be released later Monday, officials said. The boys’ names were withheld because they are minors.

The 12-year-old had been hiking in the arroyo with two brothers and two 16-year-old friends Monday afternoon when he slipped on a sewage pipe and fell several feet into a concrete enclosure, authorities said.

“They were climbing” on the pipe, said Capt. Kevin Davis of the Ventura County Fire Department. “It had algae [growing on it] and was more slippery than they thought. One slipped and fell and when the others tried to assist, they were hurt too.”

Davis said the accident occurred more than a mile from the playing field where the boys entered the arroyo. He described the area, which has waterfalls in some places, as an “attractive nuisance.”