Sand Caves In On Boy

Nicholas Geraci, 11, who nearly suffocated when a sand pit he was digging with his younger brother at Wiborg's Beach in East Hampton caved in on him last Thursday, was listed in stable condition yesterday at Stony Brook University Medical Center.

The boy was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital after rescuers worked frantically to revive him at the scene, and airlifted from there to Stony Brook. A first attempt to airlift Nicholas from the Maidstone Club golf course was called off when workers were unable to stabilize the boy.

Village Police Chief Glen Stone metz said on Tuesday that the boy had been removed from a respirator earlier this week. "He's breathing well on his own, but he has not regained consciousness," he said. It is too early to assess if the boy suffered brain damage from the accident, but "it may not be too long before they move him to rehab," the chief added.

Condition Upgraded

Ellen Barohn, a hospital spokeswoman, declined further comment except to say the boy had been upgraded from "critical but stable" earlier this week.

The accident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. last Thursday. Nicholas and his brother Anthony, 8, were digging a sand pit in a rise on the beach near the shoreline. Their mother, whose first name could not be learned by press time, was nearby with two other children.

"What's a more innocent thing you can do, but dig holes in the sand?" asked Chief Stonemetz. "Every kid does it."

The Geraci family had been visiting their grandparents, Daniel and Joan Gorman of Huntting Lane, and were due to return home to Virginia that afternoon.

Sand Was Heavy

"At some point, Anthony said, 'I want to get out of here,'" according to Chief Stonemetz. Nicholas fashioned steps in the sand, allowing his brother to climb out. As the older boy followed, he apparently lost his grip and tumbled backward headfirst. "The sand caved in and he was face down, buried up to his knees," Chief Stonemetz said.

Although police said the pit was three and a half to four feet deep, other onlookers said it may have been over five feet deep, and with steep sides.

A number of people at the beach immediately joined in the rescue effort, digging futilely by hand. "There was an arm and a leg sticking out," said Bob Fazakerly, who was one of them. "But it was just too heavy to pull him out."

Rescue Effort

Chief Stonemetz said he did not know how long the boy was buried. "I wish we could nail that down a little better," he said, "but I just don't know."

"His fingers were moving at first, but then they started to turn blue," said Mr. Fazakerly.

Mr. Fazakerly had just arrived at the beach with his wife, Nancy, their two children, and his in-laws, Robert and Ethel MacGarva. The two men joined Karie Gardiner, Nadine Miller, and others in the digging effort while Nancy Fazakerly went by car to find a telephone and Mrs. MacGarva stayed with her grandchildren.

At some point, one of the onlookers ran to the Maidstone Club, where two lifeguards, Cameron Gurney and Dion Cherot, were on duty. Mr. Gurney called police at 11:34 a.m. while his partner grabbed a shovel and ran the approximately 300 yards to the scene.

"It was a tough sprint," said Mr. Gurney. "We shoveled like madmen. People were shouting, 'Be careful! Be careful!' I guess they were afraid we'd hit him in the head."

No Pulse

Sgt. Matthew Bennett and patrolman Kevin Duchemin of the East Hampton Village police reached the scene shortly after Mr. Gurney's call. "At some point, they just grabbed him by the legs and pulled him out," said Chief Stonemetz.

Officer Duchemin radioed for an ambulance at 11:37 a.m., reporting that the boy had been freed.

"It was chaos," said Ethel MacGarva. "It just seemed like it took forever. And then we saw a woman wave her arms to say he was out."

"There was no pulse, and he wasn't breathing," said Mr. Fazakerly.

"A couple of kids were huddled on the side holding hands," said Mr. Gurney. "They looked so scared."

Ten Minutes

Robert Schider, an East Hampton emergency medical technician, was working at an oceanfront house nearby when the call went out. "As soon as we got him out, the E.M.T. was there," said Mr. Gurney.

Mr. Schider joined the two police officers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation efforts. Witnesses said the work continued for about 10 minutes until David Griffiths, an off-duty village policeman and East Hampton Fire Department member, drove his pickup truck onto the beach to shuttle the boy over to the Maidstone Club golf course, where an ambulance and rescue team were stationed.

Not Stabilized

"By the time they took him away, he appeared to be breathing on his own," said Mr. Fazakerly.

Although police had summoned a Suffolk County Police Medi-Vac helicopter, which arrived by 12:16 p.m., rescue workers were "having problems maintaining his breathing," said Chief Stonemetz. Authorities later decided the air evacuation would be too risky because there was only room for one E.M.T. on board, and the child had not been stabilized.

The ambulance carrying Nicholas left East Hampton shortly after 12:30 p.m. and reached the hospital at 12:50 p.m. He was airlifted from Southampton at 1:08 p.m.

"It was gut wrenching," said Chief Stonemetz, who tried to comfort the boy's mother at the scene. "My heart really went out to her."

Hope

The rescue was draining for officers at the scene as well, he said. "Matt Bennett stayed with him the whole time. He was locked on him," said Chief Stonemetz. "When that ambulance pulled away, he turned to mush."

The chief added that some of the officers involved in the rescue effort were planning to visit the boy in the hospital and lend emotional support to the mother, who he said was distraught.

Mr. Gurney said he was hoping for a happy ending. "I can't wait until he comes up to the stand someday and says, 'I was the kid you pulled out,' " he said.