Accident Victims Children

A 2-year-old boy pulled unconscious from a Canyon Country pool and revived by a bystander was in good condition Wednesday at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The unidentified toddler apparently fell into the pool at his family's apartment complex in the 18700 block of Mandan Street around 9 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials said.

A 13-year-old boy playing with a hunting rifle was shot and killed when a friend grabbed the weapon and fired at the boy's head, thinking the weapon was unloaded, police said Wednesday. Danny Sarmiento died instantly, Whittier Police Officer Chuck Drylie said. Danny and his brother were playing in their Whittier home with a 14-year-old friend about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, Drylie said. Danny was playing with a large-caliber, lever-action rifle, he said.

An 8-year-old Dana Point girl was listed in good condition Tuesday after being shot in the leg by her 10-year-old cousin in an apparent accident last weekend, deputies said. The unidentified girl was taken to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo by a visiting uncle, a California Highway Patrol officer. She was treated for a gunshot wound just above the left knee, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Hector Rivera said.

The driver of an ice cream truck was arrested on suspicion of murder Saturday after a traffic accident in which an 11-year-old boy riding in a minivan was killed, authorities said. Police believe Aristidi N. Arevalo, 51, was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. Arevalo was to be booked after being treated at a local hospital, said Lt. Steven Allen of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.

The driver of an ice cream truck was arrested on suspicion of murder Saturday after his truck hit a minivan in the mid-San Fernando Valley, killing an 11-year-old boy, authorities said. Police said they believe that Aristidi N. Arevalo, 51, was driving drunk. He was to be booked Saturday night after being treated at a hospital, said Lt. Steven Allen of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division. Oliver Gallegos of Mission Hills was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her clunky black boots almost weighed her down, but Maria Elias managed to pull a drowning teenager from the bottom of her community pool and revive him using CPR--a technique she had only read about but never performed. It was one of two dramatic swimming pool rescues to take place over the last two days, the other involving a 12-year-old Stanton boy who pulled a drowning toddler to safety.

The 2-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard pool Saturday after he wandered away from his grandparents has been identified as Kevin Lopez of San Jose, a Los Angeles County coroner's official said Sunday. Lopez died Saturday evening after resuscitation attempts by the grandfather and paramedics failed, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman. The boy was missing for five to 10 minutes before being discovered in a pool at a home in the 10500 block of Haskell Avenue in Granada Hills.

An 18-month-old boy remained in very critical condition Monday evening, the day after he was pulled from a spa where he was discovered floating face-down, an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman said. The boy was found in the water at his home, in the 26000 block of Carmenita Lane, about 5:30 p.m., Fire Capt. Scott Brown said. When he was pulled out, he had no pulse and was not breathing, and rescuers estimated he had been in the water about five minutes, Brown said.

A 9-year-old girl found a gun while playing in a woman's office in Gardena and accidentally shot her 6-year-old sister to death, authorities said Sunday. The two girls were playing Saturday evening inside a trailer office on the grounds of B&G Industrial Rentals, in the 1600 block of West 130th Street, when the older sister found a handgun mounted underneath a desk, police said.

Police are searching for a man who accidentally shot a 12-year-old boy in the foot while playing with a handgun. The man was with the boy in the garage of the child's home, in the 11700 block of Paloma Avenue, Police Sgt. Frank Hauptmann said. The man had been drinking and was playing with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol when he dropped it on the floor and it discharged, police said. The bullet hit the boy in the foot. The man took the gun and fled in his car, police said.