Laurel Canyon News
Two Women Die Helping Victims
By Ryan J. Beard
Aug 23, 2012 - 11:17:31 AM

LAUREL CANYON—Last night two women tragically perished from electrocution while attempting to help the victims of an auto accident after the vehicle struck a fire hydrant and a light standard.  The accident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. in the 12000 block of Magnolia Boulevard near Ben Avenue in Valley Village.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, after the hydrant was stuck it gushed water into the sky and quickly began to pool.  “Underneath the SUV was an old fashioned concrete light standard, leaving behind electrical wires sticking out of the ground,” reports the LAFD’s website.  The wires were hidden due to the darkness under the SUV, the runner water, and the mayhem of the crowd.  Neighbors who were startled after the crash and well-intentioned citizens who saw the crash from their own cars rushed to help.  Tragically two of these good citizens unknowingly stepped into the electrically charged water and were killed.  Other citizens followed and were injured.

Los Angeles Fire Fighters quickly rushed to the motionless victims on the ground, thankfully however, warning bystanders stopped them from setting foot in the electrically charged water.  Instead they utilized rubber gauntlet gloves and a long pike pole to retrieve the victims before performing medical aid.

In the aftermath of the accident a total of eight individuals were injured.  Unfortunately, despite audacious treatment from Los Angeles Fire Fighters and Paramedics, two were later pronounced dead at the local hospital.