Child falls from window, freezes to death trying to get inside, Illinois officials say
.jpg "Charlotte Handelman of Rock Island, Illinois, died of hypothermia after she fell out of a window overnight and was unable to get back inside, officials say. Photo by Getty Images")
An Illinois girl died after she fell from a window overnight and couldn’t get inside her home, officials say.
Three-year-old Charlotte Handelman died of hypothermia after falling out the second-floor window of her home in Rock Island overnight Monday, according to the county coroner. She was discovered outside by her father, officials say.
“An absolutely tragic situation,” Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson told McClatchy News.
Rock Island police and firefighters went to the home Tuesday morning to help the unconscious child, officials say. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police said the death remained under investigation Wednesday.
The window was left slightly open because the home became too warm and it appeared the girl had “manipulated” it before falling, Gustafson said. She attempted to return inside before her death, he said.
The temperature dropped to 16 degrees in the area early Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Child falls from window, freezes to death trying to get inside, Illinois officials say."