A young child buried by sand when he fell into a hole that collapsed on Aliso Beach was extracted without injury, authorities said.
Lifeguards who were alerted by a bystander about the 5:45 p.m. cave-in Friday, June 22, were able to free the child’s face and supplied the boy with oxygen, said lifeguard Capt. Jason Young. Even so, he was “extremely scared and distressed.”
With the tide rising, lifeguards and firefighters mobilized to build a trench towards the ocean to prevent water from inundating the site where they were digging to uncover the youth, Young said. “It’s a very dangerous position.”
Young said the boy was running on the beach and fell into a hole dug out and abandoned by another beach-goer. An ordinance prohibits excavations deeper than two feet and lifeguards do issue warnings about carving deep holes in the sand, but they can’t see every one, Young said.
Firefighters Halt Manzanita House Fire
Residents of a home on Manzanita Drive used hand extinguishers in an attempt to smother a fire before calling for help, Fire Chief Mike Garcia said Monday.
Four engines and 17 firefighters contained the 3:44 p.m. blaze within 15 minutes, but fire caused $125,000 worth of damage to the home’s second level, Garcia said.
Seven adults and two children, as well as two dogs and a snake, were displaced from the home, whose upper level was red tagged due to damage, Garcia said. The rest of the home was deemed uninhabitable, he said.
The cause remains under investigation, Garcia said.
Sunday, June 24
Traffic stop. S. Coast Highway. 12:21 a.m. A 21-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested for DUI.
Saturday, June 23
Traffic stop. Thalia St. 2:15 a.m. A 35-year-old Laguna Niguel man was cited for DUI.
Burglary. 1000 block of La Mirada St. 10:34 a.m. Police arrested a man for trespassing after a resident caught him attempting to enter a storage unit. Nothing was taken.
Petty theft. 31800 block of Seaview St. 2:35 p.m. Mail was taken from mailbox.
Battery. 20200 block of Laguna Canyon Rd. 6:22 p.m. An Uber driver allegedly injured a a female passenger, who he ejected from his car by pulling her out and causing pain. The driver told police he was annoyed at the video game she was playing on her phone.
Drunk driving. 300 block of Aster St. 6:45 p.m. Beach patrol officers noticed occupants of a car imbibing from open containers, which led to the arrest of Wendy Elizabeth Szot, 37, of Temecula, for suspicion of DUI. She was held for $10,000 bail due to a prior offense.
Friday, June 22
Traffic stop. 500 block of Forest Ave. A 40-year-old Laguna Beach woman was cited for DUI.
DUI. Brooks St. 6:51 p.m. A 23-year-old man from Nuevo, Calif., was cited for DUI.
Domestic violence. 200 block of Broadway St. 9:13 p.m. Bystanders who observed a physical dispute led to the arrest of Vincent Joseph Mendillo, 20, of Mission Viejo, for suspicion of domestic violence. He was held for $50,000 bail.
Thursday, June 21
Burglary. 2100 block of Ocean Way. 9:26 a.m. An alarm prompted police to respond to a house, where they found an open door but otherwise empty house. The homeowner later found clothes not her own in a rear bedroom and a white towel missing.
DUI. 600 block of S. Coast Hwy. 5 p.m. A witness who reported a hit and run led to the arrest of Briana Bagladi, 30 of Aliso Viejo, for suspicion of DUI. She was held for $10,000 bail due to a previous offense. Hit and run charges may be added depending on the outcome of a traffic investigation, spokesman Jordan Villwock said.
Wednesday, June 20
Traffic collision. 2100 block of Laguna Canyon Road. 12:19 a.m. A woman motorist suffered minor injuries when her car hit a utility pole after it was struck by a deer.
Tuesday, June 19
DUI. Laguna Canyon Rd. 5:46 p.m. Erratic driving prompted the drunk driving arrest of a 40-year-old Newport Beach woman.
