A 2-year-old boy survived a fall from the 15th floor of a high-rise apartment building in Maryland when he landed in bushes and mulch on the ground, officials said.
The fall occurred Thursday afternoon from the apartment’s private balcony, which has protective glass, not a railing, according to Montgomery County police spokesperson Shiera Goff. Adults were home at the time, Goff told ABC News.
The child suffered “traumatic” injuries and went with a parent to a local hospital, according to the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.
“The child hit the bushes and landed in mulch, softening the impact,” Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Chief David Pazos told ABC News, calling it “miraculous.”
“His age and size and weight is really what helped, because if he had been any heavier, he may not have survived,” Goff said. “I think it was a combination of those bushes being there, those shrubs, and his size and weight.”
“I was so scared,” a mom in the area told Washington, D.C., ABC affiliate WJLA. “I was just thinking if it were my daughter, what will I do?”
The toddler’s current condition is not clear, Goff said.
The police department’s investigation is ongoing, Goff said.
