Three-Year-Old Nearly Drowns in Rancho Peñasquitos

Updated 4:09 p.m. with information on ambulance mechanical issues.

A wandering boy nearly drowned in Rancho Peñasquitos on Tuesday, apparently tumbling into a pool or jacuzzi before being saved by bystanders, officials said.

At 12:33 p.m. Tuesday, emergency responders were called to the pool area of a residence on the 9300 block of Twin Trails Drive for a water related traumatic injury, a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatcher said.

Bystanders said they had pulled the 3-year-old from the water and performed CPR, said Capt. David June, from Station No. 40. The child seemed to be OK and was treated and transported by ambulance in fair condition to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, he said.

By the time paramedics arrived, the child was fine, but the parents wanted to have him taken to the hospital just in case, said Reema Makani, public relations manager for Rural/Metro Ambulance.

The boy was initally headed to Rady Children's Hospital but a sudden mechanical issue was causing the ambulance to decelerate, prompting the crew to divert to the nearest hospital, which was Scripps, Makani said.

Fire department spokesman Maurice Luque said the ambulance began to "shimmy."

Makani said the patient was never in any danger and just as a precaution, the ambulance crew diverted to Scripps and called for a backup ambulance "to make sure that patient care would not be interrupted in any way."

The first ambulance has been taken out of service and the cause of the mechanical issue is being investigated, she said.