The father of the two young, Ohio sisters who died after the brick pillar their hammock was tied to collapsed and fell on them Sunday night says he doesn’t blame anyone for their deaths.
Scout Scaravilli, 14, and Chasey Scaravilli, 12, of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, were at their home, lying in a hammock tied between a tree and a brick pillar, on June 14 at about 7.45pm, when the pillar suddenly collapsed.
The two girls were then buried beneath the pillar rubble.
Police and fire crews arrived at their home to free them from the debris and they were taken to the hospital, where they later died from their injuries.
Sisters Scout Scaravilli, 14 (pictured), and Chasey Scaravilli, 12, died Sunday night during a ‘freak accident’ when the brick pillar their hammock was tied to collapsed onto them
Scout and Chasey (pictured) were rushed to the hospital where they died from their injuries
Speaking with WKYC, the girls’ father, JJ Scaravilli said, ‘I don’t blame anybody, I don’t blame myself, I don’t blame those girls.’
He said of the pillar, ‘I looked at it 100 times. I never thought a brick pillar would come down like that – it was never in my mind.’
At the time of the incident, JJ said that he was in the backyard napping when the pillar collapsed ‘in an instant.’
‘Accidents happen. They were a gift and they’re needed someplace else now,’ JJ said, noting that they’re in his heart and in heaven.
JJ Scaravilli, the girls’ father, said that he looked at the brick pillar ‘100 times’ and never would have thought that it could have tumbled down the way it did
JJ said that the sisters loved playing the backyard together and that they were inseparable.
He noted that as their dad, he ‘always thought they were the most beautiful creatures and they are definitely beautiful. But their real beauty is and was on the inside and it still is on the inside.’
The Scaravilli family has now planted two trees in the place where the hammock had been.
Scout, a rising ninth grader, and Chasey, a rising seventh grader, were students at Cleveland’s The Hathaway Brown School, which released a statement about their passing, Cleveland.com reported
‘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. Our thoughts and prayers are dedicated to their family,’ Hathaway Brown Head of School Fran Bisselle said in the statement.
Scout (left in 2017), a rising ninth grader, was an athlete, while Chasey (right in 2018), a rising seventh grader, was known for her artistic abilities
JJ said that Scout (left) and Chasey (right) were inseparable and loved playing in the backyard
The sisters, Scout (right) and Chasey (left), are pictured together when they were younger
The school Scout (left) and Chasey (right) attended have started a memorial fund in their honor
Chasey was known at the school for her artistic abilities and sense of humor, while Scout was an athlete and devoted big sister.
Of the two girls, the school’s Director of Middle School, Sharon Baker, told Fox 8 that, ‘You couldn’t be around them without smiling or laughing. They brought such joy into every room they entered.’
On Wednesday, the school announced that it had created a memorial fund to honor the sisters.
Bisselle said that the fund would be a ‘lasting tribute to these remarkable girls’ and that ‘their warm hearts and vibrant spirits will be cherished by family and friends and it’s fitting that their legacy includes a continuation of their deep appreciation of sisterhood.’
On the school’s memorial fund contribution page, the girls’ mother, Heidi Scaravilli, described Scout as being selfless an a ‘nurturing “second mother,”‘ while she called Chasey a ‘quick-witted “firecracker.”‘
Police are investigating the incident, which is being called a ‘freak accident.’
The sisters leave behind their parents and two younger twin sisters who will begin the fifth grade at Hathaway Brown – where other generations of the Scaravilli family have been students – in the fall.