Child falls from roof, in critical condition

READING, Pa. - July 2, 2008

It happend at a home along the 600 block of Front street. We spoke with neighbors who say that even though they're horrified by what happened, they're not terribly surprised.

Luis Birrial says he's seen children of all ages playing on this roof and says he chased a bunch of kids off of here just this past weekend.

Birrial says he has told some parents it's not good for the kids to be playing on the roof, but they haven't done anything.

Chopper 6 was over the scene where you can see a skateboard on the roof where toddler was reportedly riding a tricycle before falling two stories off the side of the building.

Investigators say the 22 month old victim lives in a third floor apartment with a back door that actually opens to the second floor roof, a roof that comes to a subtle peak at the center.

Police are still trying to find out where the toddler's parents were at the time. Witnesses say the mother was downstairs almost as soon as the youngster fell.

Tracy Acker said she saw the little boy in his mother's arms and at first thought he had been hit by a car, but there were no cars around. "As I watched, he just looked lifeless in his mother's arms," she said, "It was horrible."

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.