Officials: 2 teens fall into cesspool

Two teenagers were in critical condition early this morning at Stony Brook University Medical Center after one accidentally fell into a cesspool in a Farmingville backyard and the other jumped in to try and rescue him, police said.

Eduardo Vanegas-Fuentes, 16, of Holtsville, and Edgar Calderon-Castro, 19, of Farmingville, were taken to Stony Brook after the accident, officials said.

The pair were in the backyard at the home of Samuel Suarez, 16, at about 8 p.m. last night when they attempted to remove a lid covering the cesspool, police said.

Vanegas-Fuentes lost his footing and fell in and soon lost consciousness. Caldreon-Castro jumped in to try and pull Vanegas-Fuentes to safety but he soon lost consciousness as well, police said. Suarez ran inside the house in the 400 block of Blue Point Road to alert his father who called 911. Suarez was not injured, police said.

Farmingville Fire Chief Ralph Gloria said he was among the first at the scene. He said when he arrived, the cesspool cover was to the side, revealing a 3-foot opening to a pool that was 16 feet deep and about half full of waste.

Firefighters used a 12-foot pike pole to grab the clothing of one of the victims and pull him out. Rescuers used a roof ladder with hooks to pull the other victim from the cesspool, Gloria said.

Long Island has had its share of cesspool accidents in recent years. In February of last year, a 17-year-old boy, Amiri Zeqiri, died after he fell into a cesspool behind his job at a Smithtown Dunkin' Donuts. In June 2007, landscaper Sergio Reyes, 34, of Central Islip, was killed when he drove a lawn mower into a cesspool outside a home in Deer Park.

Anthony Pace, 25, who lives near where last night's accident occurred, said neighbors said they first thought a fight had broken out because the yelling was in Spanish and they didn't understand. Soon, Pace said, emergency vehicles were arriving "from all directions."