Boy, 1, drowns in bathtub in L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood

A 1-year-old boy drowned in a bathtub in Westlake on Thursday night after his mother left him to grab a towel, authorities said.

The mother, who had been in the tub with the child, returned to find him submerged and not breathing, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The woman had been gone for a couple of minutes. Click here for a profile of L.A.'s Westlake neighborhood

She had left the boy with an older brother but realized that he had also gotten out of the tub.

The mother took her child to another room and called for help. After rescuers arrived at the home in the 300 block of South Rampart Street, they tried to revive the child, the department said.

He was pronounced dead at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

"Don’t leave children alone — even for a minute," Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said in a Twitter message.

— Robert J. Lopez

Map of Westlake. Credit: Times Mapping L.A.