Vernal boy dies in accidental burial

VERNAL — A 7-year-old boy died Wednesday from injuries he suffered after he was accidentally buried at a construction site.

Sheriff's deputies and Naples police officers were called Tuesday night to an area east of Vernal, Uintah County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Fletcher said.

Whitland Bruce Cluff was found under about 2 feet of dirt several minutes after officers arrived.

Cluff had been playing with other children at the construction site on family property where a bulldozer with a 4-foot-tall blade was leveling ground. Fletcher said Cluff was unable to get out of the bulldozer's way for some reason and the heavy equipment operator, a relative, had no way of seeing the boy over the blade.

There was plenty of family there and the kids had been told to stay out of the way of the equipment, Fletcher said.

The other children playing with Cluff alerted the bulldozer operator about what had happened and individuals on scene began trying to locate the boy while they waited for police to arrive.

"It was just a tragic, tragic accident," Fletcher said.

Cluff was taken to Ashley Regional Medical Center before being flown to Primary Children's Medical Center. He died there Wednesday morning.

— Geoff Liesik