The mother of an 18-year-old killed after he was trapped with his sister in a sand collapse on a Toms River beach Tuesday says she is finding comfort in her religion and in the rescuers who tried frantically to rescue her son.
“We had lots of people trying to help and we’re very grateful for that,” Angela Caverly told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. “We know he’s with Jesus and smiling down on us.”
Levi Caverly, 18, and his 17-year-old sister were digging a deep hole in the sand with Frisbees shortly after 4 p.m. near Seaview Roaad and Chadwick Beach, which is in the Ocean Beach III section of the barrier island, when the hole collapsed and the sand fell in on them, police said.
First-responders from Toms River and neighboring towns worked for hours to rescue Levi Caverly, but he died at the beach. His body was recovered about 7 p.m.
The sister was rescued and treated for minor injuries. On Wednesday, she was behind the wheel of a vehicle, driving her family back to Union, Maine, the mother said in an interview from the road.
“Physically, my daughter is OK. She’s helping drive us home right now,” Angela Caverly said. The family came to New Jersey days earlier and had rented a house in Toms River so they could be close to the beach. The family had spent most of Tuesday afternoon on the beach before the accident occurred, she said.
“This was our first time (in Toms River). We came to try to have a family vacation,” Angela Caverly said, adding that she does not regret coming to New Jersey. “It is what it is. You can’t change it.”
In a statement, Toms River Mayor Maurice B. “Mo” Hill said he “can’t imagine the pain the family is feeling.” Hill also said that lifeguards typically stop people from digging deep holes but the incident occurred “off-season” when lifeguards are not working.
Toms River fire and rescue teams work the scene of a fatal accident on the beach near Seaview Road, where two young people were buried in sand that apparently collapsed on top of them on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.Noah K. Murray | For NJ Advance Media
Levi Caverly, who had three siblings, recently completed a home-school program and was teaching himself computer programming.
“He was trying to learn computer coding, self-taught. He loved music and was playing drums in a praise band at our church,” his mother said. “We did home school and (2021) was his last year.”
Angela Caverly said funeral arrangements are not complete, but she’s hopeful a service will be held at West Rockport Baptist Church in Maine, where the family has worshiped for years.
Toms River police responded to a 911 calls of multiple people trapped in the sand. When officers arrived, they discovered the teens had dug a hole and gotten down to about 10-feet when the walls collapsed and trapped both of them.
Emergency crews from Toms River, Lavalette, Seaside Heights, along with the Ocean County sheriff’s and prosecutor’s offices responded to the beach, police said.
Toms River fire and rescue teams work the scene of a fatal accident on the beach near Seaview Road, where two young people were buried in sand that apparently collapsed on top of them on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.Noah K. Murray | For NJ Advance Media
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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.