CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW) — Police are investigating after two sisters died in an apparent hammock accident in Ohio Sunday evening.
Police Chief Annette Mecklenburg said that around 7:45 p.m. police and fire units responded to a call about a girl trapped underneath some bricks.
When officers arrived, they discovered there were two girls, ages 12 and 14, in a hammock tied to a tree and brick pillar. Police said it appears the pillar collapsed and fell on the girls.
Once the pillar was removed, the girls were transported by a rescue squad to an area hospital, where they died several hours later, the police said.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as 12-year-old Chasey Scaravilli and 14-year-old Scout Scaravilli.
A spokesperson for Hathaway Brown School said Scout was a rising ninth grader and Chasey was a rising seventh grader. The spokesperson said the school was making plans to provide grief counseling for students and parents.
Hathaway Brown sent a letter about the accident to school families Monday morning and said the sisters leave behind two younger sisters in addition to their parents.
“The entire HB community is saddened by the loss of the Scaravilli sisters; they will be greatly missed by so many friends, classmates, and teachers,” Hathaway Brown Head of School Fran Bisselle said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are dedicated to their family.”
The school spokesperson said students, parents, and faculty members are invited to campus from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday for an informal gathering to remember the victims.
Police said the incident remains under investigation.