Deaths at Eagles Nest - Homosassa FL

[Steve_C]

233 ft on air. Either or both could have been narced out of their minds. Even if they had known something before the dive they may not have been thinking clearly in the crucial minutes.

 

[Anna G]

He's just looking out for our best interests... I mean really... If the evil nest can kill his naturally skilled, competent and safety minded son & grandson, what chances do we have?

I'm stunned that Daddy Dearest didn't call for an end to driving and/or a new Prohibition after sonny had that little hit&run incident after drinking a few beers. I mean, his poor safety-minded son just doesn't seem that good at avoiding trouble. Completely, utterly unforeseen trouble...

 

[heavierthanlead]

That's not surprising. He probably believes his son was a world-class cave diver ... and therefore it must be the dive site that killed him ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It's quite apparent all 3 generations were well aware of the dangers, and the senior Spivey is in denial...

Father, son die while cave diving in Hernando

Family members were grief-stricken.
"Darrin should never have been in that place," said Chester Spivey Jr., Spivey's father.
Chester Spivey said he believed his son had been diving for at least five years and had dived Eagle Nest Sink before. Chester Spivey remembers warning his son about the spot and telling him "never to go to that place because so many people died there."
Darrin Spivey grew up in Brooksville and attended Central High School, according to his father. Chester Spivey said some of his fondest memories were riding motorcycles and fishing with his son.
"But prison made him tough," Chester Spivey said of his son. "It got to the point where he became a risk taker."
Records show Spivey served more than two years in prison on charges of leaving the scene of a 2009 accident involving the death of a homeless bicyclist, and obstructing an investigation. He also served a three-year sentence in the 1990s on other charges.
Spivey said he's had a strained relationship with his son, but he believed Darrin Spivey was working to turn his life around since being released from prison in 2012.
"I love my son, unconditionally love him," Chester Spivey said. "I just wish I had more time."
Chester Spivey said Darrin was a "super father" to his three children and two step-children. "One thing that stood out with him, he liked to do things with his kids," Spivey said.
Patricia Davis remembered her nephew as a "good father" and "good family man" with a unique laugh.
"It was a laugh and a giggle at the same time, and you couldn't not help but laugh when you heard it. It was hilarious."
Davis, who lives in Texas, said the family is shocked by the accident, even more so that it happened on Christmas Day.
"Don't forget to tell your loved ones how much they're loved and make them feel it," Davis said, quoting from a prayer she posted on Facebook. "Don't let things go unsaid and undone, might not get the chance. It's so true."

 

[jscott099]

"But prison made him tough," Chester Spivey said of his son. "It got to the point where he became a risk taker."

No Chester...somewhere along the line your son became a stupendously poor judgment maker. He broke rules on all 5 of the primary ways people get killed in caves. Then he assumed the role of trainer to his son with no credentials to even teach open water, let alone cave. Any one of the foolish errors made would have been enough to do you in; but, take on all of them and the outcome is pretty much a done deal. He may have had a death wish for himself and his son, but that does not mean the rest of responsible cave divers do as well. Sorry for your loss but you should consider where you yourself failed as a father to teach your own son good judgement in life.

 

[ScubaInChicago]

Spivey's father has asked that Eagles Nest, one of the premier cave diving sites in the world, be closed to all diving because it claimed the life of his son and grandson.Diver's father wants cave closed after deaths | firstcoastnews.comI leave the comments on this to the rest of you.

I'm probably going to be outcast for saying this, but I agree with the father that EN should be closed; to idiots that have a death wish who don't understand the reasons for the rules.Personally, I'm happy learning from other peoples mistakes. No need to experience them firsthand and kill myself.

 

[Scubagolf]

If you closed every place where someone who made judgment errors died, Yosemite, Disneyland, and the entire Pacific Ocean would be off limits.

 

[Dive-aholic]

CaveAtlas.com » Cave Diving » United States » Eagle's Nest
This is what came up on my phone for Eagles' Nest, and the very bottom of the page says things like needs Trimix training etc, etc and essentially don't wreck it for the rest of qualified cave divers by getting killed there. maybe one can bypass that page, but the warnings are there.
Certainly the father has the greatest responsibility, but it's hard to imagine the son was unaware of all the warning signs.

I'm not disputing it's there. I'm disputing that they had to notice it. I've never noticed it and I've been on the Eagle's Nest page.

 

[drrich2]

I'm probably going to be outcast for saying this, but I agree with the father that EN should be closed; to idiots that have a death wish who don't understand the reasons for the rules.

How do you propose to do that without excluding others? It's in an unstaffed remote location. Trying to staff it raises questions of by whom, what type, who dictates who can & can't get in, how is this regulated, and how is it paid for? And the regulators will try to cover their butts liability-wise since eventually someone will die anyway, so the regulatory burden will grow, and so on. Eventually someone in power will decide it's too troublesome, expensive & risky & shut it down for everybody.

Richard.

 

[Dive-aholic]

When somone creates an updated version of A Deceptively Way To Die, maybe the family can be a part of it.

This is in the works.

 

[PfcAJ]

I think that if the WMA said it was closed to non cave+trimix divers, posted it as such, spread the word to shops and agencies, police (idk who has jurisdiction there. FWC?) made occasional stops to the site (esp on weekends when OW divers tend to frequent the site) and issued citations to divers who could not produce the required certifications based on trespassing, less unqualified divers would go there. Less. Not all, of course, but it would help.