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Fatal Accident Summaries
for 2008
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May 6, 2008
An 8-year-old boy drowned Tuesday evening in an industrial sand pit while searching for tadpoles. The boy’s parents and the neighbors who tried to revive him are angry that the company has not put up a fence or warning sign around the pit entrance.
"How's an 8-year-old kid going to know he can't go play in the world's biggest sandbox?" said the neighbor who pulled the young victim out of the water.
The boy’s parents said they had no idea a 40-acre pit was so close to their house. It is hidden behind the woods of a neighbor’s backyard.
As it became closer to dinner, the victim’s father called out for his son, thinking he was next door.
Instead, he was met by a neighbor’s 7-year-old son, who was screaming, "[Your son] is dead. Come quick."
"He was saying, '…he was in our pool. I don't think he can breathe,'" the boy’s father recalled.
By the time the victim’s father reached the pit, neighbors were already inside the pit performing CPR on the boy, but they couldn't revive him.
It took about seven people to drag the victim out of the pit, a difficult task because the sand was so slippery.
"As you step, the sand causes you to slide back down," said the father.
One of the parents who tried to rescue the young boy said the water where the drowning occurred was deceiving. It looked shallow, but about 6 feet of water sat on top of about 4 feet of mud. It was like quicksand, he said. When he went in to search for the boy, he became submerged and almost got pulled in. He found the victim’s foot and pulled the boy out.
(Source: Tallahassee Democrat)
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