Spiked fence impales 12-year-old boy’s leg at a closed California pool, rescuers say

A 12-year-old boy scaling a spiked wrought-iron fence around a closed high school pool Saturday afternoon in California slipped and impaled his leg.

“He was elevated off the ground about 10 feet,” said Battalion Chief Jim Huntze, KPIX reported. He called it “a difficult extrication” since firefighters had to support the boy with a sling while cutting the fence.

Fire crews on ladders spent about 25 minutes cutting the boy free after the 4:30 p.m. accident in Antioch, the East Bay Times reported. A medical helicopter landed on the Deer Valley High School football field to airlift the boy to a children’s hospital.

“He still had part of the fence in his leg when they took him to the field,” said spokesman Steve Hill of the Contra Costa Fire Protection District, according to the publication.

Schools and most public pools remain closed during the coronavirus pandemic, KGO reported.

As a result, school officials say they’ve had previous problems with youngsters sneaking into the pools, according to the station.

“Most of the pools in the county are shut down,” Huntze said, KPIX reported. “So apparently kids have been coming over to the high school and climbing the fence to swim in the pool.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named Deer Valley High School.

This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Spiked fence impales 12-year-old boy’s leg at a closed California pool, rescuers say."