Man Drowns During Attempted Rescue

By City News Service

A 36-year-old man drowned Saturday trying to rescue a man and a boy who had been swept by a large wave off the Cabrillo Beach breakwater.

The other two were rescued by others, and have been released from emergency rooms.

The 36-year-old man was among several other people at the jetty, which is shaped like a wall with vertical rock sides. Los Angeles Port police Lt. Michael Capodanno said police were dispatched at about 6:30 a.m.

The man was unconscious and not breathing when paramedics reached him, said spokesman Brian Humphrey at the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

The 14-year-old boy was conscious and breathing as he was pulled out and in fair condition, Humphrey said.

A third person, a 49-year-old man, was able to pull himself out of the water, he said. He was taken to a hospital in fair condition.

Capodanno said the 14-year-old boy and 49-year-old man were treated and released from a hospital. The 36-year-old man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The rock jetty separates the Port of Los Angeles from the Pacific, and can sometimes be washed over by wakes from passing ships, or large swells from distant storms.