8-Year-Old Girl Dies After High-Rise Building Fall In West Philadelphia
By Steve Beck, Noel McLaren, Al Novack
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A young girl died after falling out a ninth-floor window of a high-rise apartment complex in Philadelphia Wednesday morning.
The incident happened at The Fairfax apartment complex in the 4200 block of Locust Street in West Philadelphia.
"We believe the kid had woken up before the father. We believe the eight-year-old is looking out the window, looking at something, and just tragically falls from the window," Lt. John Walker explained.
The unidentified girl fell nine stories to a courtyard below.
"They (officers) arrive on location, the father is holding his eight-year-old child and the child is unresponsive at the time," Lt. Walker said.
Investigators say the only possible witness is her big sister, who is just 11-years-old.
"She started running and screaming in the building," said Lt. Walker.
The child was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but was pronounced dead at 8:28 a.m.
For now, police say they're conducting their investigation as an accident.
Sources close to the victim say her father is a doting single father of two who lived at the Fairfax apartments with both girls. Like many of the other residents at the complex, sources say he was a U-Penn graduate student. His student neighbors are in disbelief.
"I feel sorry for the dad I really feel sorry for them I don't know what happened," said Penn grad student and neighbor He Yu.
Police say the window structures appeared to be safe, but neighbors say more could have been done.
"I think that the apartment should take more safety measures to prevent these disasters," said Yu.
The incident remains under investigation.
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