‘It was a miracle’ – 4-year-old boy survives fall from six-story Bronx apartment window

A Bronx mother is grateful her four-year-old son did not sustain any life-threatening injuries after the toddler fell from their six-floor apartment window on Tuesday. Jessica Lugo, a FedEx manager who witnessed the near-tragic fall, told New York Daily News that little Karter Christian plunged to the ground after he “slipped out in between the air conditioner and the window frame.”

“There’s a gap there,” Lugo added. “He was trying to get up. He was conscious, but he wasn’t speaking. A guy was holding him in his arms. Then the cops came and scooped him right up,” she recalled. “He’s lucky to be alive.”

Another witness, Juanita Kelsey, also said it was a “miracle that he fell in this grass.” “That boy was still moving and he was fighting. I mean God is good, that’s all I can say,” Kelsey added.

Karter was rushed to the hospital for medical attention in the aftermath of the incident. Besides breaking his leg, he did not sustain any other serious injuries. The minor is also said to be in good spirits.

“They had to do an X-ray and all the doctors say he has a good personality, he’s an angel. They were laughing because his personality, like they couldn’t believe how he was so good and hanging on,” Karter’s mother, Dominique Carter, emotionally said.

“There’s an angel looking after him. … Someone is truly watching over my baby in heaven,” she continued. “He has no scratches, nothing on him, and all I can do is thank God. Not a lot of babies that can [survive] six flights. My baby is a warrior.”

Carter said the minor was with his father at the time of the incident, adding that she was on her way home after running an errand when she saw people rushing to her son’s aid after the horrific fall, New York Daily News reported. She said her son tried getting on his feet after falling.

“I was just yelling, I was screaming,” a tearful Carter recalled. “I couldn’t believe, my baby, I thought he was going to be gone. I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ I could not believe it. My heart.”

Carter said she had used tape and wood to seal off an opening in their apartment window, but her son kept removing it despite warning him to keep off that side of their apartment. On Wednesday, New York City Housing Authority workers came to their apartment to fix window guards.

“NYCHA is investigating this unfortunate incident and will work with the family to make sure that they have the services they need,” the agency said. “Upon initial review, window guards are present throughout the apartment where required and were last checked in February 2022, and there are no repair work orders on record for the air conditioners present in the residence.”

And though Karter remained in the hospital as of Wednesday, Carter said she was still glad her son is fine. “God knows if my baby never made it I would have been so hurt,” she said. “So devastated. … He’s a fighter, he was meant to be here. My baby went through a lot.”