Brooklyn Parents Want Criminal Charges Against Building Owners After Child Falls Out Broken Window
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A Brooklyn mother and father say their son's tragic death could have been prevented.
The 2-year old died after falling out a window that did not have window guards.
Pictures and memories are all Lareese and Juanita Williams have left of their son, Lareese Jr.
"Words can't explain how I feel right now. How we feel. I just wish I could see my son running around again. His smile," the boy's father said.
On Sunday, the parents put Lareese and his one-year-old brother Christopher down for nap – minutes later the screaming started.
"I feel paralyzed on one side. It's like I've been shot and half of the time I don't even know if I'm walking around here," Juanita Williams said.
The two-year-old wedged himself between the broken part of the window and fell six stories onto the pavement below. He died a short time later.
"I just don't want this to happen to anybody else. It's just so sad that this had to happen," the mother added.
"What bothers us even more is that all they had to do was their job," Lareese Williams added.
The family told CBS2 the window in their boys' sixth-floor bedroom had been broken and missing a window guard since January.
They say they begged building management to fix the window, but no one ever came. A city spokesman confirms there were no window guards installed in the unit at the time of the accident.
The very next day, the family says the building installed window guards and bars in their unit, leading the family to say their failure to act before the tragedy amounts to criminal negligence.
"We want criminal charges against the owners of the building because that's the only thing that makes them act," Donte Mills, the family's attorney said.
"There's supposed to be window guards for a specific reason to protect the child. There weren't window guards and a child fell out of a window. It's a direct connection."
Juanita Williams says she hopes her son's legacy is that no other family has to endure the pain she's going through right now.
"Needs to be a lesson learned that this never happens again because it's too much. We lose too many of our children to this," Williams said.
Building management has hired a PR firm. They told CBS2's Jessica Moore the "facts of the case need to be clarified."
"Building management is working closely and cooperatively with the authorities in the investigation and as always remains committed to the safety and well-being of all residents and their guests," Don Miller West End Strategies said in a statement.
The family tells CBS2 they're trying to stay strong for their other son, who will never know his big brother.
No charges have been filed against the parents.
