CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : Boy Stops Car After Mother Passes Out

A 5-year-old boy steered a runaway car to safety on a freeway after his mother apparently passed out at the wheel, the California Highway Patrol said. “My mommy’s dead! My mommy’s dead!” the boy screamed after the car was brought to a halt by an off-duty Alameda County firefighter who drove his pickup truck in front of the car to slow it. Firefighter Brian Bailey said he checked the woman’s pulse and breathing and reassured the boy that his mother was alive. The boy said his mother had been drinking, Bailey said. He said the car was going about 25 m.p.h. down a slight grade when he brought it to a stop near a freeway exit. The impact crunched the back of his pickup. CHP Officer Casey Simpson said Kathy Graves, 31, of Castro Valley, was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Her son, Anthony, was placed in temporary foster care.