News of the Arroyo
Title: | Channel's dangers brought home |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2005-04-26 |
Summary: | April 26, 2005 - A tragic death occurs in the Arroyo Seco as a child slips in the bottom of the flood channel and is swept away by the strong currents. |
Author: | Rodney Tanaka, Staff Writer |
Publication: | San Gabriel Valley Tribune |
Content: | VALINDA -- Julieta Vega spent about three hours with the body of her 2-year-old, Lourdes, after the child drowned in the Los Angeles River. \"I held her in my arms, as much as I was allowed to,\" Vega said. \"When I walked into that emergency room, it was like she was asleep. Not one bruise or scratch. It\'s unbelievable to even describe how beautiful she looked.\" She doesn\'t want others to go through the same ordeal. She and her husband, Martin Vega Sr., hope their story serves as a lesson to others about the dangers of flood control channels and the importance of family. On March 16, Julieta\'s brother, Luis Hernandez, 42, took Lourdes and her brothers, Martin Jr., 6, and Enrique, 3, to Ernest E. Debs Regional Park near the Arroyo Seco and the Pasadena (110) Freeway. They went down to the wash near the water, which was about 10 inches deep, but when he told them they had to leave, Lourdes ran away and fell into the water, Hernandez said. He jumped in after her but lost sight of her where the Arroyo Seco meets the Los Angeles River. She was found near the Olympic Boulevard bridge, about 10 miles from where she went into the water. She was taken to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, where she was pronounced dead. As little as 6 inches of running water is strong enough to knock adults off their feet, Los Angeles City Fire Department Capt. Carlos Calvillo said. \"You can actually see the green underneath the water,\" Calvillo said. \"I think the problem is now that it\'s warming up outside, washes are starting to build up moss. It becomes a very slick surface. As soon as she touched it, it took her away.\" Flood control areas have bike trails nearby, but getting into the channel is illegal, Los Angeles County Public Works spokesman Ken Pellman said, adding if someone wants to get into the channel, it\'s hard to stop them. \"Our heart goes out to this family,\" he said. \"We certainly don\'t wish this on anybody. We would hope that more people would be made aware through this incident so the same thing would not happen to anyone else.\" Every death in the flood control system is preventable, said Nancy Rigg, flood safety education consultant for Los Angeles County. Rigg\'s fiance drowned while trying to save a child in the Los Angeles River in 1980, which prompted her to become a flood channel safety advocate. She helped develop \"No Way Out,\" a flood control safety program distributed to Los Angeles County schools. \"We need to develop a communitywide, logical approach to flood control safety and environmental issues,\" Rigg said. \"That takes commitment from communities.\" The washes should be closed to the public, with penalties and fines to deter people from going down there, Martin Vega Sr. said. Rules for waterways should be more prominent, Hernandez said. \"If something like this could happen to us, it could happen to anyone,\" he said. But what happened isn\'t about putting up more warning signs, it\'s about parental responsibility, Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Catherine Plows said. \"Why you let a 2-year-old play in the riverbed is beyond me,\" Plows said. \"There could be all the regulations in the world. A responsible adult needs to ensure the safety of children that are in his care.\" Julieta Vega said some people blame her brother or blame her for Lourdes\' death. But the death was an accident, not something that happened due to neglect. She doesn\'t blame her brother, and she never hesitated to leave her children in his care. \"He\'s my brother. I\'ve known him my entire life,\" she said. \"I trust him and I still do. He\'s never harmed anyone in his whole life.\" Luis wanted to show the kids a good day, Martin Vega Sr. said. \"Unfortunately, that special day turned into tragedy,\" he said. \"We can\'t blame him for that.\" Enrique, 13 months older than Lourdes, has trouble understanding what happened, Julieta Vega said. The two were very close and were always together. \"He sees her picture and tears come down,\" she said. \"He doesn\'t want to be alone.\" Their 6-year-old, Martin Jr., understands the concept of death, Julieta said. She uses symbolism and tells her children if they see a butterfly or a bird to think of Lourdes. Once a butterfly followed them and tried to land in their hands, but never quite touched down. \"It was Lourdes trying to get away from us,\" Martin Vega Jr. said. Sometimes Julieta can talk about her daughter without crying. Other days, she can\'t bear to look at her picture. \"To me, she\'s in heaven,\" she said. \"The ones suffering are here on Earth. We have to live with it every day.\" She told Lourdes she loved her before she went to the park, Julieta said. Saying those words, or even giving your children a hug or a pat on the shoulder, is important, she said. \"Sometimes we\'re so busy with our lives, we forget to say those things,\" Julieta said. \"I don\'t feel guilty that I didn\'t tell her how I feel about her.\" -- Rodney Tanaka can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2230, or by e-mail at rodney.tanaka@sgvn.com. |
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