Child Falls 20 Feet From Window In Ross Township
ROSS TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- A 5-year-old girl is being treated at Children's Hospital after tumbling as much as 20 feet out of her bedroom window and onto the driveway below in Ross Township.
Police and emergency crews were called to the home in the 100-block of Rene Drive around 5 p.m.
Ross Township Police Sgt. Benjamin Dripps estimates the little girl fell approximately two-to-three stories and landed on concrete.
"That was her bedroom," said Sgt. Dripps. "I know nothing about the window, whether she opened it or it was opened."
The child was rushed to Children's Hospital for treatment. Police said Thursday evening that the latest on her condition is that she is unresponsive, but breathing and has minimal use of her extremities.
According to Sgt. Dripps, a neighbor first saw the girl lying in the driveway. It's unknown how long she was there before she was discovered.
"The neighbor, and I'm not even sure it's the neighbor who called 911, the neighbor who rushed to the home, knocking at the door to alert the mother only saw the daughter in the driveway," said Sgt. Dripps. "To my knowledge at this point, no one saw the child fall out of the window."
Sgt. Dripps said the girl's mother was home at the time of the mishap, but she was in another room, tending to another child when the accident happened. She did not hear the neighbor knocking on her door.
However, police say she was with her daughter when authorities arrived at the scene.
Police are continuing to investigate.
Ross Police Sgt. Benjamin Dripps says it appears to be a tragic accident, but possible "negligence and criminality" have not been completely ruled out.
Sarah Arbogast reports:
"Investigators have been to the residence and are at the hospital and will continue to investigate with anyone who might have information as the evening goes on," said Sgt. Dripps. "Prior to this, we have no reason to think this more than a very horrific accident."
The girl is the fourth local child to fall from a window in less than two weeks.
On March 25, a 4-year-old tumbled two-and-a-half stories form a home on Mayflower Street in Larimer. The child suffered arm and wrist injuries.
On the same day, along Penn Avenue in Mt. Oliver, another 4-year-old fell two stories. Five days later, a girl fell from a house on Victoria Avenue in Arnold.
"We get into the spring season, we see a lot more of these events," said Dr. Rade Vukmir, an emergency medicine physician. "So they are clustered in an unfortunate fashion, but they do happen and they are more common than you think."
Trina Orlando reports:
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