Child dies in trip to Wild Rivers water park in Irvine, police say

Guests at Wild Rivers water park get splashed by large equipment in 2022.

Guests visit Wild Rivers water park in 2022.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

A child who visited an Orange County water park on Saturday has died, police said.

The Irvine Police Department said in a statement that a child at Wild Rivers — a sprawling complex with water slides, pools and other attractions — was taken shortly after 11 a.m. to the hospital and pronounced dead.

No information was available on the identity or age of the child, and police did not detail what led to the child being taken to the hospital.

The death “does not appear” to be “water-related,” Irvine police said.

Wild Rivers reopened in 2022 in a new, larger location at Orange County’s Great Park, with 20 slides and attractions and a large wave pool. The public parkland is leased to Wild Rivers, which shares part of its revenue with the city of Irvine.

The original Wild Rivers water park was open from 1986 to 2011, when it closed to make way for housing development.

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