INVERNESS, Fla. — A family member of the Citrus County teens who died in last week’s tunnel collapse is sharing their story for the first time, remembering the boys and the lives they touched.
George Watts and Derrick Hubbard were only 14 years old when tragedy struck last Sunday.
A memorial continues to grow at the site where the two boys lost their lives. The Watts' family returned to the location for the first time since the incident occurred.
Earlier this week, Tampa Bay 28 reporter Annette Gutierrez spoke with community members while they processed this devastating loss, and now George's step-mom, Jasmine Watts, is speaking publicly for the first time about the loss and how she's honoring his memory. She said she has been raising George for the past three years like one of her own kids.
"I told him, I love you, be safe," Jasmine Watts said.
Those were the last words Watts said to George before he biked over to his friend Derrick Hubbard's house — a boy everyone knew as D.J. — last weekend.
The two 14-year-olds were practically brothers: playing football, going on family outings, and hanging out with friends together.
"Since diapers. They're - that's his best friend. That's his everything. You couldn't see D.J. if you didn't see George," Watts said.
But the unimaginable happened, when they were found trapped inside a hole they had dug. Watts shared video from George's phone of the tunnel they created that day.
"I knew they would come home sandy sometimes, and I didn't know they were playing in anything like this," Watts said.
Last Sunday, Watts got a call from D.J.'s mom.
"She was screaming and she was like they're in sand, they're in sand. And it didn't make any sense at first," Watts said.
When Watts arrived at the scene, she saw first responders digging in the exact spot where her Life360 app showed George's location.
"It was showing him in the pit and it wasn't making sense," Watts said. "Who was the first person they found? George. They found him first."
About three minutes later, they found D.J. Both were taken to the hospital. D.J. passed away on Sunday and George on Tuesday.
"I loved the man he was turning into - he cared about his siblings, he started clicking with my son, in a way I never thought he would," Watts said. "I never imagined having to raise these kids without him."
Watts said the family had become one, but now they're left broken, trying to pick up the pieces.
But hope remains. The Watts family decided to donate George's organs last Wednesday.
"I want to meet who has his heart and who has eyes," Watts said.
The Watts family said they are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support they've received over the past week.
"I was honestly shell-shocked because I didn't realize how much of an impact he was making everyone where he was going," Watts said.
The family is now working to honor the boys’ memory while grieving their loss in a community still shaken by the tragedy.
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