Mother, son and daughter pulled from motel pool; condition grave

A mother, her 11-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were hospitalized in grave condition Monday after a bystander pulled them from the deep end of a motel swimming pool on Hollywood Boulevard, fire officials said.

Paramedics responded to a drowning call at the Hollywood Premiere Motel in the 5300 block of Hollywood Boulevard about 3:30 p.m., said Peter Sanders, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The 36-year-old woman and her four children were at the pool when two of the children drifted into the deep end and the mother jumped in fully clothed to try to rescue them, Sanders said.

A man who lives in the area was walking by when he heard two of the family’s other children screaming. He hopped over a fence, jumped into the pool and pulled all three victims from the water, Sanders said.

The children and their mother had no pulses and were not breathing, and the man was beginning to administer CPR when firefighters arrived and rushed them to hospitals.

A man who was also with the family had walked away from the pool when the incident unfolded, Sanders said.

The fire department and the Los Angeles mayor’s crisis support team went to the scene to help the man and the family’s two other children: An 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy who fire officials said were overwrought after the incident.

None of those involved have been identified.

Fire officials said the motel swimming pool is fenced, about 7½ feet at its deepest point and has a safety sign that reads “No lifeguard.”

“It appears this is just a tragic accident,” said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Barry Montgomery, who described the family as California residents who had been staying at the motel.

The aging two-story motel sits along a busy stretch of Hollywood Boulevard near Western Avenue in Los Feliz. The L-shaped building has peeling, salmon-colored paint with red accents.

“It’s usually empty,” said Aida Kekejyan, 15, who lives in the area.

Kekejyan said the motel is sometimes used for filming, but she said she has never seen an entire family stay there.

Police were called to the scene for crowd control about 3:50 p.m. after people gathered along Hollywood Boulevard, said LAPD Officer Joel Morales.

The passerby who pulled the woman and two children from the pool told fire officials he had just learned CPR last week, Sanders said. His name was not released.

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