Overview
- George Watts and Derrick Hubbard, both 14, were trapped when a hand-dug hole and tunnel gave way at Sportsman Park in Inverness, Florida.
- Deputies said the teens were about four to five feet down in “sugar sand” and likely digging with a shovel when the collapse occurred.
- First responders took roughly 30 minutes to extricate the boys; Hubbard was pronounced dead at a local hospital and Watts later died at UF Health Shands early Tuesday.
- The boys’ parents began searching after calls went unanswered, finding bikes and shoes near the sandpit before calling for help.
- Inverness Middle School deployed its crisis support team, and the community is raising money through the Citrus County Education Foundation and a joint GoFundMe, with Watts’ family stating he would be an organ donor.