'Shocked and devastated': Connecticut father, son die in tragic fall after riding ATVs in abandoned quarry

A father and son died after they both fell off a 75-foot cliff in Connecticut Wednesday, WVIT-TV reported.

Steven Price, 71, and his son, Mark Price, 30, were riding ATVs together in an abandoned quarry near Farmington, Conn. The tragic accident occurred after they stopped their vehicles, and Steven went to stand at the edge of a nearby cliff.

Steven began to slip, and as Mark tried to save his father, they both ended up tumbling over the cliff, an eyewitness told the police.

"[Mark's] dad went to look at something, tripped and his son went to grab him and they both fell," the witness said during a 911 call reporting the incident. "They're not breathing."

The father and son, who were both pronounced dead at the scene, spent a lot of time together, according to friends and family. The pair even worked for the same company, Siracusa Moving & Storage.

"They're the type of guys that at 2 a.m. in the morning if your house was on fire, they'd be the first ones there," their boss, Dan Siracusa, told WFSB-TV.

Steven had been working for Siracusa for 15 years, and was now technically retired, but still did occasional jobs with the company. Mark worked as a driver in what Siracusa said was a tight-knit working environment.

"It's surreal, everybody's sullen. A lot of tears — me included," Siracusa told WFSB.

Siracusa added that Steven had been trying to do more "outdoors type" activities lately. The 71-year-old had just lost 50 pounds after successfully battling cancer, the Hartford Courant reported. Mark, meanwhile, was a single father with a 3-year-old daughter who Siracusa said he loved dearly.

"You don't meet a nicer person," Siracusa said of Mark. "We are shocked and devastated."

Police said no foul play is suspected in the accident. However, the quarry was closed to the public and riding ATVs on the property was not permitted. The quarry has been mostly unused since the 1980s.