Twelve-year-old girl loses her vision from 4th of July firework accident
Firework lodged in eye socket
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A 12-year-old South Los Angeles girl who was hit the face with fireworks on the Fourth of July has lost vision in her right eye, a Children’s Hospital Los Angeles spokesman said today.
The girl, identified by the hospital as Erika Rodriguez, was injured in the 600 block of West 42nd Place about 11 p.m. Monday, according to firefighters, who took the girl to the pediatric hospital at Sunset Boulevard and Vermont Avenue.
“The patient suffered a very severe injury to her right eye from a direct hit by an exploding firework that resulted in severe trauma to the eye,” her surgeon, Dr. Thomas Lee, said. “We did surgery to remove the firework that was lodged in her eye socket. As a result of the injury, she unfortunately will be permanently blind in her right eye. She was fortunate that the left eye did not suffer any damage from the firework explosion.”
It was unclear if a criminal investigation was being conducted in connection with the girl’s injury.
Fire officials said someone lit a firecracker-like device near the girl’s face.
Los Angeles police say two suspects have been arrested for the murder of 5-year-old Aaron Shannon, and are being held without bail. Leonard Hall Jr., 21, was taken into custody today (Friday) about at 2:10 a.m. at an apartment in the 200 block of West. 27th Str. Marcus Denson, 18, was arrested Thursday evening by Sheriff’s deputies in the 1100 block of East 83rd Street. Law enforcement officials say both suspects are active gang members.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Officials are urging Southland residents to reduce the risk of fires by shunning use of personal fireworks this Fourth of July, and they're vowing to crack down on drunken drivers.
Far more fires are reported on July 4th than on any other day of the year, with fireworks accounting for 40 percent of them, more than any other cause, according to a report issued last month by the National Fire Protection Association, a Quincy, Mass.-based organization that bills itself as the world's leading fire prevention advocate.
LENNOX, Calif.—A Lennox neighborhood erupted in gunfire early Monday morning, leaving six people wounded, one of them seriously, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
The shootings took place at 12:43 a.m. in the 5000 block of west 112th Street, said Deputy Jeff Gordon in the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A Los Angeles County supervisor whose district includes the high desert reminded residents today that all fireworks are illegal in unincorporated Los Angeles County.
“While some cities allow ‘safe and sane’ fireworks, fireworks of any kind are illegal in Los Angeles County,” Supervisor Michael Antonovich said.
Fireworks violations can include fines of up to $1,000 and as much as a year in county jail. In some cases, violators can be charged with a felony.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Leaving the fireworks to the professionals this July Fourth is a safer alternative than setting off pyrotechnics yourself.
That’s the message from safety officials to residents of Los Angeles County cities that allow the personal use of fireworks.
All fireworks are illegal for personal use within the city of Los Angeles, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
