A woman was taken by helicopter to Loma Linda University Medical Center after she was savagely beaten with a golf club at her home in Rancho Cucamonga, and a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman says a man had been detained at the scene.
The woman, whose name was not available, suffered severe head and facial injuries and compound fractures of both wrists, said Rancho Cucamonga fire Battalion Chief Jim Curatalo by telephone.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies were called at 7:15 p.m. and the Fire Department received a call seven minutes later of a possible assault during a domestic disturbance in the 11500 block of Stoneridge Drive, Curatalo said.
When firefighters arrived, deputies had secured the scene and the fire crew went into the home, he said.
“We found a 65-year-old female, unconscious, breathing but labored, with severe head and facial injuries,” Curatalo said. He said it appeared that the suspect, who he described as a 30-year-old man, had beaten the woman with a golf club.
Sheriff’s deputies on scene described that victim as 50years old, said Jodi Miller, a department spokeswoman.
“She was repeatedly hit in the face and head,” Curatalo said. “She even had a compromised airway — he may have broken her upper jaw.”
Curatalo said the woman’s wrists were broken, probably when she tried to ward off the club’s blows with her arms. The fractures were both compound, meaning the broken bones were protruding through the skin.
Fire officials called the neighboring Upland Fire Department and requested the use of its air ambulance, which landed at Fire Station 173 in Rancho Cucamonga near the scene of the beating, Curatalo said. The woman was brought by ground ambulance to the helicopter, which flew her to Loma Linda University Medical Center.
A medical assessment of her condition was not immediately available.
The Sheriff’s Department could provide no specific information about the man who was detained, Miller said, citing the ongoing investigation.
