Firefighters Save Cyclist Trapped By Raging LA River

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man clutching a bicycle and clinging to the branches of a tree was rescued Thursday afternoon from the rain-swollen Los Angeles River near Griffith Park as the first in a series of winter storms moved through the area.

The man was found about 2:35 p.m. just south of Zoo Drive alongside the Golden State (5) Freeway, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A swiftwater rescue team used a tethered inflatable boat to reach the man and both he and his bicycle were taken safely to dry land, Humphrey said.

The unidentified man was cold and wet but appeared to have escaped his ordeal without injury, Humphrey said.

It was unclear how he ended up in the river, which is a concrete-lined flood-control channel in that area.

Crews brought the bicycle to land "to prevent future harm of any amateur retrieval as well as any later false alarm," Humphrey said.

City News Service