Child dead, another critical after car goes into water at L.A. port

One child died and a second remained hospitalized in grave condition Thursday after they were pulled from a submerged car that went into the water carrying four people at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.

A call came in around 6:10 p.m. of a car in the water near Berth 73, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Witnesses who called 911 reported there was a woman in the water who was screaming for help.

The first paramedic arrived within three minutes followed by LAFD rescue divers, officials said.

When crews arrived, they found a man and a woman in the water, Humphrey said.

But there were two children still inside the car, which sank quickly to the harbor floor.

“As it settled … to the bottom … it disturbs all the silt so the visibility is very difficult,” LAFD Deputy Chief Daren Palacios said at a news conference Thursday night. “They had a very hard time extricating the second patient out.”

The children, both boys ages 13 and 8, were eventually brought to the surface.

The 13-year-old died at the hospital. The 8-year-old remained hospitalized in grave condition, officials said.

The two adults were in fair condition.

No one else was in the car.

It was not clear if the four people in the car were related or who was driving.

Investigators were still trying to determine exactly what caused the car to go into the water.

“We don’t know if the vehicle was driven into the water intentionally or accidentally,” said Capt. Brian Whitten with the Los Angeles Police Department. “Our investigation will attempt to determine that.”

The car was still in the water Thursday night. It was not clear when it would be lifted out.