Life-threatening sandbox stunt inspired by TV

A 10-year-old boy from the Everett area suffered life-threatening injuries Saturday after his playmates were burying him in a sandbox and he stopped breathing, officials reported.

He remained in critical condition at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported Sunday.

Snohomish County Fire District 1 medics first rushed the boy, identified by his family as Codey Porter, to Providence Everett Medical Center, fire agency spokeswoman Leslie Hynes said.

His half brother, 30-year-old Joshua Quantrille, said Codey was playing with Quantrille's three sons and several other children Saturday in the backyard of a home belonging to a family friend.

There is a sandbox in the backyard, and Quantrille says his children told him Codey came up with the idea that they should bury him, head first, in the sand. Quantrille says the children came up with the idea from a TV cartoon they watchcalled Naruto, which is a Japanese anime featuring ninja characters.

Quantrille says Codey was buried about from his head to his chest. At some point, he began thrashing around, but the children apparently thought he was playing.

Eventually they figured out that something was wrong. They pulled Codey out and called the adults inside the home, who administered CPR until an aid car arrived.

Officials learned of the incident around 11 a.m. Deputies and medics responded to the 13800 block of 59th Avenue Southeast, an unincorporated area south of Everett, sheriff spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.