Resident tells of desperate bid to save flat-fall toddler
ATRAUMATISED resident in a block of flats where a toddler fell onto cobbles from a sixthfloor window has spoken of the desperate attempts to save him.
A 23-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the 18-month-old boy’s fall at Newcastle House, Barkerend Road, Bradford, at about 5.10pm on Saturday.
Witness Danuta Tomaszewicz, 59, said the little boy was naked when her husband and a friend went to help.
She had been on her phone, looking out of the window from the first floor flat that they are decorating when she suddenly noticed the child on the ground below.
Mrs Tomaszewicz, who is Polish, at first thought that it was a doll.
Her niece Monika Tomaszewicz said: “She realised it was a real baby when she saw he was trying to catch his breath and his belly was moving. She screamed for help and her husband and his friend ran downstairs.
“The friend took his shirt off because the baby was naked.”
Another helper rang 999 and an ambulance arrived after around 20 minutes, the niece said.
As they waited the men tried to comfort the boy, holding his head and talking to him.
The witness wept as her niece said: “She could not sleep at all last night.
“She doesn’t know how she is going to live here as every time she looks out of the window she will see the baby. They tried their best for the baby.”
Andrew White, 53, lives on the same landing as the flat where the baby fell. He said a couple with two young children live there.
Mr White, a father of three with four grandchildren, said: “They are a nice young couple who keep themselves to themselves, which is normal here.”
A resident on the same landing of the Y-shaped block said: “There’s quite a high turnover of people in these flats, you wouldn’t necessarily know your neighbours. I just keep to myself. There’s babies and toddlers around and I have a four-year-old living above me. I don’t think they should be living in high rises.
“When I moved in, in 2000, there was an age restriction and no-one under the age of 35 lived here.
“When it changed from the council to a housing trust, that restriction disappeared.”
He saw police activity in the block on Saturday night but did not know what happened until he saw the news this morning.
“It’s horrible,” he said. “It’s hard to take.”
His living room windows only opened a few inches, he said.
“It was blowing a gale and there was a lot of rain so I kept mine closed,” he said.
Earlier, Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen, who is leading the investigation, said: “This is clearly an extremely traumatic incident and specially trained officers are working to support the child’s family members and those who witnessed what took place.
“It is no exaggeration to say those who witnessed this incident will have been deeply traumatised by what they saw.”