OCALA, Fla. — A 17-year-old boy died Tuesday morning after he cliff-dove into an inactive lime rock quarry in Marion County, deputies said.
Trey Austin Dagwan Cardoza, 17, of Largo, jumped from a height of 60 feet into the quarry Monday in the 6400 block of NW Gainesville Road in Ocala, deputies said.
Deputy Donnie Winston spotted the teen and another person in the water.
"When I got down there, you couldn't see him (Cardoza). He was hollering, 'Help, help, help,'" Winston said. "I took off my gunbelt, my vest. I stripped down to my T-shirt in just my pants. I kicked off my shoes and jumped in. I started swimming to where the voice was coming from."
Winston pulled both teens to shore, but Cardoza didn't make it.
His cause of death is under investigation.
Before Cardoza’s accident on Monday, 12 adults and a juvenile were arrested in a separate incident for trespassing at the same quarry, which is on private property, deputies said.
"There's no trespassing signs everywhere. It's very well known that you're not supposed to be trespassing on this property," said Lauren Lettelier with the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
Three juveniles were arrested for trespassing at the quarry on June 25, deputies said.
Cardoza is the second person to die after jumping off a lime rock quarry, deputies said. An 18-year-old man from Tampa died May 27 after he drowned at a quarry at the Hard Rock Cycle Park at the 6800 block of NW Gainesville Road, deputies said.
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Deputies said in all these cases, the trespassers saw video on social media of people diving into Ocala quarries and wanted to try it themselves.
Deputies said they’re stepping up patrols near the quarries to prevent trespassers.