Point Reyes Light - July 26, 2001

Dillon Beach accident kills 12-year-old boy

By Gregory Foley

A 12-year-old boy died Sunday after virtually suffocating two days earlier when a tunnel he had dug in a sand dune at Lawson’s Landing campground in Dillon Beach collapsed on top of him.

Michael Newell of Cameron Park, El Dorado County, was in critical condition on Friday after he was transported by helicopter to Palm Drive Hospital in Sebastopol and later to Children’s Hospital in Oakland. He died at Children’s Hospital at 2:20 p.m.

Hospital spokeswoman Carol Hyman said Tuesday that the boy’s internal organs were donated for medical use. She said that the boy’s parents had requested that the hospital not comment on the boy’s condition or treatment.

Marin County Fire Department Capt. Paramedic Ron Alves said Tuesday that the boy had been without air for five to six minutes after he was completely buried under about a yard of sand. The boy was not breathing and had no pulse after being uncovered, but his condition had improved before he was flown to the hospital, Alves said.

"It was a 50-50 call at that point," Alves told The Light. "Unfortunately, the boy didn’t survive."

Mike Lawson, an owner of Lawson’s Landing who assisted in the rescue effort, said that the incident occurred just after 11 a.m. Friday west of the campground. Lawson said that Newell and a friend were out of view of the campground inside a narrow tunnel they had cut through a sand dune when the tunnel collapsed entirely and trapped the two boys.

Newell’s friend escaped and alerted bystanders, but Newell remained trapped under approximately two feet of sand, Lawson said.

Several beachgoers at the scene, including off-duty paramedic Richard Lawshe of the South Placer Fire Department, were able to dig Newell out. Lawshe and two other men at the scene administered CPR until county paramedics arrived 15 minutes later. Newell’s parents, who were about 200 yards away when the incident occurred, watched with a crowd of onlookers as the men tried to revive the boy.

"The father was screaming at all of us, ‘Don’t stop. Don’t stop!’ and was telling the boy, ‘C’mon, Mikey,’" Lawson said.

Medics arrived too late

Capt. Alves, who is based at the Tomales firestation, said that when he and a team of six firefighters arrived at the scene, the boy had no vital signs. Alves said paramedics using CPR were able to restore the boy’s heartbeat by the time an emergency helicopter arrived approximately 30 minutes later, but he was still unconscious when flown away.

"He was flown first to Palm Drive [Hospital] for stabilization and was then relocated to Children’s," Alves said. "He had been under the sand for a long time, but we held out hope. Kids are generally pretty resilient."

Lawson added, "There wasn’t a mark on him. He was clearly suffocated. But by the time he was uncovered, it was apparently too late."

Earlier incident

Lawson said that a similar incident occurred in 1987 at Lawson’s Landing when a 17-year-old boy was killed after a tunnel he and a companion had dug through a sand dune collapsed on him.

"There’s no knowing with sand," he said. "It seems like such an obvious thing, but some people still dig tunnels."

Capt. Alves said that the ABC morning show Good Morning America covered the incident on national television Tuesday because it echoed a similar incident in New Jersey where a 16-year-old boy perished.

Lawson said he had already installed three signs at the campground, including one at the entrance, to warn visitors of the danger of digging tunnels into the dunes or the beach. He said he may install additional signs in the future.

He noted that the campground has a policy that prohibits digging into the sand on campground property, and the policy is stated on tags that are given to all campers.

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