News

Riverhead firefighters rescue teenager from septic well

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A Riverhead High School student is carried into an ambulance after being rescued from a cesspool Friday morning.

A Riverhead High School student was rescued after he fell into an open septic well Friday morning, police and fire officials said.

The student became trapped in a well behind the Toys R Us on Route 58 about 9:30 a.m., police said.

He was waist-deep in the water when authorities arrived on scene, police said.

PAUL SQUIRE PHOTO | A Riverhead High School student fell into this septic well Friday morning.

Riverhead firefighters and a LIPA crew arrived at the scene and dropped a rope down to the teen, said Riverhead Fire Department Chief Anthony White.

Police and firefighter then pulled the victim out, placed him on a stretcher and wrapped his lower body in a blanket.

The student suffered no injuries in the incident, and was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Riverhead ambulance volunteers as a precaution, police said.

“He’s fine, just wet,” a police officer at the scene said.

The manhole cover to the septic tank had been removed before the teen fell in, police said, adding it was unclear how it had been opened.

Police are investigating the incident.

[email protected]