Toronto Toddler Crushed to Death by Falling Air Conditioner as Her Siblings Watched.
A Toronto family is struggling to understand the tragic events that happened yesterday afternoon. Witnesses say that the mother or 2-year-old Crystal Mirogho was walking her other two children home from school with Crystal in a stroller. In a split second, what was a happy atmosphere shattered with the screams of Crystal's mother.
A window air conditioning unit had fallen from an eighth floor apartment window and down onto the little girl just a few feet from her siblings ages five and seven. One witness said that she heard the screams and rushed to her balcony. "I heard screaming,” building resident Sherene Bromfield told CTV News Toronto. "I ran on my balcony and I looked over and I could see her trying to revive her daughter."
"They said they had a pulse, a low pulse, and she just started crying."
The toddler was taken to an area hospital, in critical condition but, did not survive her injuries.
Little Crystal's family released a statement saying they are truly "devastated" by her death.
“Our family has lost our precious baby girl Crystal. We are devastated. We would ask that through this difficult time we be given the opportunity to grieve our loss privately. We wanted to thank the public for the outpouring of support for our family while we are struggling to cope this is tragedy,” The statement was released by the Ristich Law Firm that is representing the family.
Residents of the housing complex say that just last year building management offered to exchange window units for portable air conditioners that could be kept inside of the homes. This swap would have been at no cost to residents but it was optional.
The resident of the apartment where the air conditioner fell from is not responding to inquiries from news stations.
In a statement, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of the child.
“Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time and we offer them our sincere condolences. TCHC staff are onsite at the building today to assist tenants who require support,” the statement reads.
“Toronto Community Housing staff attended at the building yesterday alongside Toronto Police Service to investigate what took place and we continue to review this incident. We will take any appropriate action once the facts are known.”
At this time no charges have been made but the police are still investigating.
