26-Year-Old Dies After Being Trapped Inside Half Moon Bay Sand Tunnel
From the archive: published Jul 23, 2014, 12 years ago. Details may have changed since.
In yet another case of a fun beach activity gone horribly wrong, a 26-year-old man died after the sand tunnel he was digging near California’s Half Moon Bay Beach, collapsed. The man who was later identified as Adam Jay Pye was trapped inside the tunnel for over 30 minutes, reports SFGate.
The unfortunate sand tunnel accident was reported on Monday at around 5:30 p.m. local time, according to KTVU. State firefighters said they responded to a call from the beach which informed them of a person being completely covered by sand. According to California Fire Captain Jonathan Cox, the sand tunnel was roughly 10 feet deep and had caved in with Adam inside it.
“I haven’t personally ever seen anything quite like this. None of the firefighters at the scene had seen anything like it either. These types of calls are very hard to anticipate.”
The complexity of the situation meant that 30 additional firefighters with specialized equipment were called in. People assembled at the beach too chipped in and helped free Pye from the sand tunnel. However, it was too late. Even after the assembled paramedics performed life support, it wasn’t enough to save Adam from succumbing to his injuries.
For Pye, it was a fun trip with friends to Half Moon Bay that turned into disaster. Adam was supposed to travel to New York shortly for another trip. He had graduated from Cal State East Bay with a degree in communications. He was also preparing for a new job. An ex employee of UPS, Jay was employed at the Oakland Airport since 2006.
Adam Jay Pye, according to his mom was “the perfect child”.
“I know this will sound typical coming from his mom, but he really was the perfect child. He never had so much as a parking ticket.He took care of everyone including us. He was always helping people, it was just his way.”
Meanwhile Captain Jonathan Cox said that the latest tragedy might go a lot in making people understand the risks of digging sand tunnels at beaches.
“It was a nice, sunny day at the beach and there were a lot of people out. It should serve as a reminder that even digging in the sand can be dangerous and that people need to exercise caution.”
This is not the first time sand tunnel accidents have been reported from beaches. The Inquisitr in the past have reported about similar tragedies on more than one occasion.