Second Teen Dies After Falling Into Cesspool In Farmingville

FARMINGVILLE, NY (CBSNewYork/AP) - Two teenagers who fell into a cesspool on Long Island have died, police said.

Sixteen-year-old Eduardo Vanegas-Fuentes, of Holtsville, died Thursday morning at Stony Stony Brook University Medical Center. Edgar Calderon-Castro, 19, of Farmingville, was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Police said at around 8 p.m. Wednesday, Calderon-Castro jumped in to try to rescue Vanegas-Fuentes, who was unconscious, after he fell into the 16-foot-deep cesspool that was about half full of waste. Vanegas-Fuentes lost his footing and fell in as he was trying to remove a concrete lid.

A friend who lived in the house ran to get his father, who called 911. Firefighters pulled the victims out.

The scene was frantic and frightening for neighbor Anthony Salamone.

"Oh my God. I mean, I'm shaking just thinking of it," he said to WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. "I have children of my own and they're just really nice boys and God forbid, you know."

Police said the teenagers were not aware that the concrete lid was covering a cesspool. An autopsy will determine the cause of their deaths. Authorities suspect they were overcome by toxic fumes.

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