Father, son die in fall from cliff at quarry in Connecticut
FARMINGTON, Connecticut -- A 71-year-old man tripped atop a cliff and his adult son tried to save him, but both fell about 75 feet to their deaths at an abandoned quarry in Connecticut, police said Thursday.
Steven Price, and his 30-year-old son, Mark Price, were riding all-terrain vehicles with a third man near the old Tilcon quarry in Farmington shortly before their deaths on Wednesday evening, police Lt. Timothy McKenzie said.
The Prices stopped and got off their ATVs near the cliff's edge just before they fell, he said.
"It appears to be a tragic accident," McKenzie said.
The other man who was with the Prices called 911 at about 8 p.m.
"My friend fell off the cliff ... him and his father. They're not breathing," said the caller, who was not identified. "His dad went to look at something, tripped, his son went to grab him and they both fell."
Steven Price, of Bristol, and Mark Price, of Plainville, died at the scene. The third man had to lead police officers and firefighters to the location because it was difficult to locate because of challenging terrain, police said.
McKenzie said there doesn't appear to have been any criminal aspect to the deaths, but the incident remains under investigation. The quarry was off-limits to the public, he said.
All three men worked for Siracusa Moving & Storage, the New Britain-based company's president, Dan Siracusa, told The Hartford Courant. He said Steven Price had recently received a clean bill of health after cancer treatment, and Mark Price was the single father of a 3-year-old daughter.
"Everybody here is very, very sad," Siracusa told the Courant. "These were wonderful, wonderful people."
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