Deputies release name of teen who died in cave-in accident
Detectives with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit released the name of the 14-year-old North Port teen killed in a construction site cave-in Sunday afternoon in Port Charlotte.
Danilo Riccardi Jr., of 3043 Lemay Lane, was extracted from the cave-in hole about three hours after the incident occurred.
The father, Danilo Riccardi Sr. had gone to the parking lot construction site for the new Bethani Seventh Day Adventist Church at 24300 Harborview Rd. He asked his other sons, ages 12 and 14, along with Danilo Jr., to come with him. Danilo reportedly went into an 8- to 10-foot deep hole to get water to mix cement when the cave-in occurred. It is uncertain how long he was under the muddy mixture of sand and water. When Danilo Jr. was located in the hole, the boy’s father tried unsuccessfully to save him.
The CCSO got the call at 3:26 p.m. and arrived six minutes later; two deputies also tried to get the boy out to no avail. Charlotte County Fire and EMS arrived and started the long process of shoring up the hole to prevent further cave-ins on rescue workers. The boy’s body was finally recovered shortly after 6 p.m. and taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
CCSO Major Crime’s detectives also contacted OSHA who will begin their investigation into the death at the construction site.
Source: Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office