UPDATE: Boy Injured In Sand Collapse On Surf City Beach In Stable Condition

by Patricia A. Miller

A 12-year-old boy was injured in a sand accident at the 17th Street beach in Surf City this afternoon, Borough Councilman Peter Hartney confirmed.

Hartney - who is also a longtime Surf City Fire Department member and former chief - said he was at home when he was told about the accident early this afternoon.

“I was seven blocks away and got there in two minutes,” Hartney said. ”When I got there, he was breathing.”

Lifeguards and beach goers had pulled the boy out the the sand when it collapsed. Initially he was not breathing, but began breathing after he was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation, he said.

Hartney had already called the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department to arrange for a helicopter to transport the boy to a trauma center. Paramedics met the helicopter at the Ethel Jacobsen School in Surf City. The boy was then flown to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden, Hartley said.

“We passed him off in stable condition,“ he said. “Our emergency response system worked like it was designed to.”

Hartney said he is waiting to hear back from the boy’s father to see how he is doing.

Many are already commenting on the accident on Facebook.

The Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol recently warned visitors about the dangers of digging large holes in the sand.

This is a breaking news story. Come back to Patch soon for more details.