Overview
- George Watts and Derrick Hubbard, both 14, were trapped when a hand-dug tunnel in sugar sand collapsed at Sportsman’s Park in Inverness on Sunday.
- First responders extricated the boys in about 30 minutes; Hubbard was later pronounced dead at HCA Citrus and Watts died early Tuesday at UF Health Shands in Gainesville.
- The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said the collapse occurred in a four- to five-foot-deep hole and tunnel likely dug with a shovel.
- Parents discovered the boys were missing after finding their bikes and shoes by the sandpit, began digging, and called for help.
- Inverness Middle School deployed district crisis support, and the community launched fundraising efforts through a joint GoFundMe, the Citrus County Education Foundation, and local events.