Ottawa toddler stable after 6-storey fall

August 20, 2007

A 13-month-old girl was in stable condition Sunday night after falling out the window of a sixth-floor apartment in Ottawa's west end.

Paramedics said she was fortunate to have survived. "I think she's a very, very lucky girl," said Ottawa Paramedic Service spokesman J. P. Trottier after the incident around 6:45 p.m. ET on Woodridge Crescent, near Bayshore Drive.

However, he expressed concern about the possible extent of her injuries.

Neighbours saw the child land on her side on the grass, and she was conscious, crying and moving around when paramedics arrived, Trottier said. She was rushed to hospital with serious internal injuries.

Someone was in the apartment with the child at the time she fell, Trottier said, and her parents were with her when paramedics arrived.

He added that an adult who fell the same distance would be far less likely to survive.

"They tend to bounce a little bit more than adults, and adults usually tend to kind of put their hands out or to tumble a little bit more as they fall, so children usually are better in terms of survival rates," he said.

Police said they are investigating the incident.

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