2 year old boy dies after falling from 20th floor of a Newark, NJ building amid ongoing investigation.
A two-year-old boy has died after falling 20 stories to his death from the window of a high rise in Newark, N.J, Saturday morning.
The fatal fall happened around 7 a.m. at a residential building on 455 Elizabeth Avenue in Newark according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Police officers responded after reports that a child had falling from a 20th floor window. First responders pronounced the two-year-old victim dead at the scene.
Window boy fell out of didn’t have window guards installed.
N.J.com reported an ‘active, ongoing’ investigation taking place in a bid to determine how the boy came to fall out the window.
The address belongs to the Elizabeth Towers in Newark, a residential apartment complex.
Speaking to NBC NY, a tenant at the building said they had specifically asked building management to install window guards in his apartment before moving in after notifying the building he had a child.
‘My windows are safe. Before I moved in, I made sure they put up the barricade,’ Paul Ankrah told the outlet.
Of disconcert, the outlet reported ‘spotting’ other windows in disrepair.
Noted the outlet, ‘Some were covered by garbage bags. Other holes in windows were covered by what appeared to look like cardboard and plywood. And one window simply had a gaping hole.’
Elizabeth Towers: history of building management issues?
Another tenant at the residence said the building being behind in resolving issues at the apartment complex.
‘They don’t have enough help I’ll say to get things going to fix problems,’ the resident who asked to remain anonymous told NBC NY.
Adding, ‘… this building is old and it needs to be renovated.’
Websites indicate the skyscraper opened in 1961. Not immediately clear is whether the building was up to date with city safety requirements and guidance and whether there had been previous lapses or fines at the building.
Law enforcement sources initially described the boy’s death as a ‘tragic accident.’
The identity of the child and the circumstances leading up to his death had yet to be announced. Including the whereabouts of the child’s death leading up to the boy falling out the 20th floor window.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Tips Line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432. All calls will remain confidential.
