Jessiesgirl1108
January 13th, 2009, 10:08 AM
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A North Port family is mourning the loss of their 14-year-old son, who was killed in a construction site cave-in Sunday.
Danilo Riccardi Jr. was buried when the walls of an 8- to 10-foot-deep trench collapsed around him at the work site for Bethanie French Seventh-day Adventist Church at 24300 Harborview Road in Port Charlotte, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Despite an all-out rescue attempt by county personnel, the teenager was declared dead at the scene.
Danilo and his brothers, ages 13 and 12, were helping their father, Danilo Riccardi Sr., a construction worker, sheriff's spokesman Bob Carpenter said. Their father was installing concrete culverts on the site of a parking lot east of the church, which is under construction.
He asked Danilo to get some water to mix cement, and Danilo grabbed a bucket and went into the trench, which had standing water in it. When the walls collapsed, the wet, heavy dirt sucked Danilo in and made rescue and recovery efforts virtually impossible, Carpenter said.
"It was a tragic situation," Carpenter said. "Once he got into, it was like quicksand."
There was no water available at the site because pipes have not been put in yet, said Dee Hawkins, spokeswoman for Charlotte County Fire and EMS.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident, said Les Grove, area director for the OSHA office in Tampa. Grove said he could not provide details.
Riccardi family members could not be reached for comment. Hawkins said the family wanted privacy. The church's pastor, the Rev. Josue Innocent, also could not be reached.
Danilo was a freshman at North Port High School until early October, according to the school's registration office. The office had no information on where he attended school after that.
The cave-in created a dramatic scene Sunday.
The boy's father was slumped over at the accident scene and had to be aided by EMS workers. According to Carpenter, Riccardi Sr. had experienced serious heart problems last week.
He refused to go to a hospital until his son's body was retrieved, and Riccardi's wife and other two younger sons also looked on, Carpenter said.
Hawkins said at least 25 to 30 people were involved in the rescue effort, including Fire and EMS workers, its special operations units, the Sheriff's Office and the public works department. A "snorkel truck," used to suck out sewer systems, was also brought in to remove the dirt.
Carpenter said it was unclear how long the boy was buried before he was discovered in the hole by his father, who tried to pull him out. Only the top of the teenager's head was visible when paramedics and deputies started arriving about 3:30 p.m., Hawkins said.
It took considerable time to shore up the walls of the hole to make sure it was safe for rescue workers.
"It was dangerous for everybody," Carpenter said.
Once Danilo's face was uncovered, paramedics tried for about 30 minutes to revive him, Hawkins said. His body was not extricated from the hole until nearly 6:30 p.m.
"They did everything they could do, but he was already gone," Carpenter said
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090113/ARTICLE/901130345/2055/NEWS?Title=All_out_rescue_attempt_fails_to_save_bu ried_boy
A North Port family is mourning the loss of their 14-year-old son, who was killed in a construction site cave-in Sunday.
Danilo Riccardi Jr. was buried when the walls of an 8- to 10-foot-deep trench collapsed around him at the work site for Bethanie French Seventh-day Adventist Church at 24300 Harborview Road in Port Charlotte, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Despite an all-out rescue attempt by county personnel, the teenager was declared dead at the scene.
Danilo and his brothers, ages 13 and 12, were helping their father, Danilo Riccardi Sr., a construction worker, sheriff's spokesman Bob Carpenter said. Their father was installing concrete culverts on the site of a parking lot east of the church, which is under construction.
He asked Danilo to get some water to mix cement, and Danilo grabbed a bucket and went into the trench, which had standing water in it. When the walls collapsed, the wet, heavy dirt sucked Danilo in and made rescue and recovery efforts virtually impossible, Carpenter said.
"It was a tragic situation," Carpenter said. "Once he got into, it was like quicksand."
There was no water available at the site because pipes have not been put in yet, said Dee Hawkins, spokeswoman for Charlotte County Fire and EMS.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident, said Les Grove, area director for the OSHA office in Tampa. Grove said he could not provide details.
Riccardi family members could not be reached for comment. Hawkins said the family wanted privacy. The church's pastor, the Rev. Josue Innocent, also could not be reached.
Danilo was a freshman at North Port High School until early October, according to the school's registration office. The office had no information on where he attended school after that.
The cave-in created a dramatic scene Sunday.
The boy's father was slumped over at the accident scene and had to be aided by EMS workers. According to Carpenter, Riccardi Sr. had experienced serious heart problems last week.
He refused to go to a hospital until his son's body was retrieved, and Riccardi's wife and other two younger sons also looked on, Carpenter said.
Hawkins said at least 25 to 30 people were involved in the rescue effort, including Fire and EMS workers, its special operations units, the Sheriff's Office and the public works department. A "snorkel truck," used to suck out sewer systems, was also brought in to remove the dirt.
Carpenter said it was unclear how long the boy was buried before he was discovered in the hole by his father, who tried to pull him out. Only the top of the teenager's head was visible when paramedics and deputies started arriving about 3:30 p.m., Hawkins said.
It took considerable time to shore up the walls of the hole to make sure it was safe for rescue workers.
"It was dangerous for everybody," Carpenter said.
Once Danilo's face was uncovered, paramedics tried for about 30 minutes to revive him, Hawkins said. His body was not extricated from the hole until nearly 6:30 p.m.
"They did everything they could do, but he was already gone," Carpenter said
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090113/ARTICLE/901130345/2055/NEWS?Title=All_out_rescue_attempt_fails_to_save_bu ried_boy