Florida Boy Rescued after Culvert Collapse

They were just being boys, out playing in the woods the day after Thanksgiving.

But a fun afternoon turned into a panicked one when a concrete culvert hanging over a sandy pit snapped and trapped a 12-year-old boy underneath.

The boy, whose name was not released, and a group of several other neighborhood kids were digging and playing in a pit next to a community center under construction in the Sterling Hill development about2 p.m. Friday.

Spring Hill firefighters suspect they somehow loosened support for the piece of concrete and caused it to crack.

The 12-year-old was underneath the slab when it fell, pinning him from aboutmid-calf up.

"He was facedown in the sand, and only his feet were sticking out," said Spring Hill District Chief Alex Lopez. "We think that (the concrete) weighsseveral tons."

Emergency responders initially called for a tow truck to lift the slab off the boy. But because of where it rested on his body, and the sandy area around the culvert, they didn't want to risk backing the truck too far into the wooded area and hurting him more.

Instead, they used wooden blocks and air bags to stabilize the concrete, then dug sand from underneath the child. Once the crew cleared out enough sand, they were able to pull him out after about an hour.

He was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa as a precaution, though it appeared he didn't have any serious injuries beyond bruises and cuts.

"He was lucky," said Spring Hill firefighter-paramedic Troy Hagar. "That hour probably seemed a long time to his parents, but he was breathing and conscious while we dug him out. We knew he was going to be all right for the most part."

Once loaded on the helicopter, the boy's parents left for the hospital, carrying a large pair of black and white sneakers with them. A few other children at the scene walked out of the woods with worried looks on their dirty faces.

Sean Nguyen prepared to put up Christmas lights when his wife, Kelley, went looking for their 9-year-old son, Nicholas. She drove around the development and then stopped when she saw the flashing lights.

Not long after that, she called Sean on her cell phone to tell him she had found Nicholas. He had gone with the group to play paintball and was there when the accident happened.

"Nicholas went in the culvert and was able to get out," Sean Nguyen said. "But the bigger boy went and it shifted."

Neighbors who gathered around the rescue site said children often play in the area. The community center pool was recently put into the ground.

Jesse Seguine, a 10-year-old who lives in the neighborhood, said some of his friends go to the site to skateboard or ride bikes. The empty pool was used as a half-pipe one time, he said.

"I'm glad I wasn't there," he said, turning around to go home. "I bet it was scary."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com, or (352) 848-1432.