400-pound boulder partially severs boy's arm on California beach: Officials

The teen was hospitalized in serious condition.

ByEmily Shapiro
July 19, 2018, 10:39 AM

A 15-year-old boy was walking along a Southern California beach when a 400-pound boulder fell on him, severing his arm, local officials said.

The freak accident happened Wednesday afternoon in Emerald Bay in Laguna Beach, the Orange County Fire Authority said.

PHOTO: Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
LagunaBeachPD/Twitter
PHOTO: Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
LagunaBeachPD/Twitter
PHOTO: Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
Rescue at EBay under way for juvie that has arm trapped under a rock, Laguna Beach California, July 18, 2018.
LagunaBeachPD/Twitter

The teen was walking on rocks along the water's edge when the boulder toppled him, trapping his leg and severing his right arm above the elbow, below the shoulder, Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Tony Bommarito told ABC News.

Lifeguards were the first to reach him and applied a tourniquet to his arm, Bommarito said.

PHOTO: A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
KABC
PHOTO: A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
KABC

The Laguna Beach Fire Department then arrived and lifted the boulder, which Bommarito described as about the size of a cooler.

The teen was hospitalized in serious condition, Bommarito said.

PHOTO: A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
KABC
PHOTO: A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
A 15-year-old boy's arm was severed while trapped under a boulder that fell on top of him in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach July 18, 2018, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
KABC

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