‘Unimaginable nightmare’: Two teen best friends die after sandpit collapses on them

3 hours ago

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB/Gray News) – Two 14-year-old best friends in Florida died after a sandpit collapsed while they were digging, according to authorities.

Citrus County Sheriff’s deputies say on Jan. 11, George Watts, 14, and Derrick Hubbard, 14, were digging a hole in a sandpit near a popular Florida park when it suddenly collapsed on them while they were inside it.

Hubbard’s mother found the teens’ shoes and bikes outside the sandpit before they started calling for help and law enforcement.

Deputies rushed to the scene and dug through the sand to find the teens.

George Watts (left) and Derrick Hubbard (right) are being remembered in Gainesville Wednesday.(GoFundMe)

Watts was found alive with a pulse but unconscious and not breathing on his own. He was taken to a hospital but died from his injuries.

Hubbard was found unresponsive with no pulse. He was also taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.

According to a GoFundMe page set up for the boys, they shared a bond that went way beyond friendship. “They were inseparable, full of life, curiosity, and dreams for the future,” the page read.

The page continued saying, “What should have been another day of childhood adventure turned into a heartbreaking loss that no parent should ever have to endure. Our precious boys were taken from us far too soon.”

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