Michael Schwartz /for New York Daily News Erickson Villa father and his cousin,Ismael Villa, light memorial candles before they leave the tragic scene. The heart-broken father of the 13-year-old boy who drowned in the Bronx River visited the scene of the tragedy Saturday, the day after the horrific accident.
“He was a happy boy,” the father of Erickson Villa told the Daily News as he left five white candles on the pier in Starlight Park.
Erickson and his cousin, also 13, jumped off the pier near E. 172nd St. together about 3:10 p.m. Friday to cool off after getting out of Herman Ridder Intermediate School.
The shallow water quickly deepens around the dock, and the two boys were quickly sucked away by the currents.
Michael Schwartz /for New York Daily News Erickson Villa drowned while swimming with his cousin Gavin Wellington in the Bronx River. Neither boy could swim.
Gavin Wellington, pulled from the water by emergency responders after about 15 minutes, was rushed to St. Barnabas in critical condition, then transferred to the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore hours later.
Erickson wasn’t found by divers for an hour. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital but could not be saved.
TOMAS E. GASTON Despite frantic efforts of rescuers at the scene young Erickson Villa lost his life in the Bronx River. Enlarge 
TOMAS E. GASTONGavin Wellington was pulled from the water by emergency responders after about 15 minutes and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
The dead boy’s father visited the pier with an adult cousin of the victim Saturday morning. Both men declined to give their names.
They lit the candles and the boy’s father silently wept.
“It’s not a good time – it’s bad,” Erickson’s cousin told the News.
Michael Schwartz /for New York Daily News Ismael Villa, holds family photo of his cousin, Erickson Villa, who drowned. The boy’s father, his voice shaking with emotion, recalled his everyday interactions with his beloved son.
“He’d go down to the store and say, ‘Daddy can I have $ 10?’” he said.
Starlight Park opened just last year as part of a city effort to restore and give public access to Bronx River shorelines.
Swimming is not permitted in the park, which serves as a launch point for kayakers.
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