LAKEWOOD - Two parents were charged with child endangerment Friday after an investigation which began when their infant fell out of a second-story door earlier in the week.
On Sunday around 3 p.m., 24-year-old Thomas W. Berry and 19-year-old Kayla A. Berry were moving furniture at 126 E. Fairmount Ave. in a bedroom on the second floor of the house. An exterior door, which isn't followed by a porch or a gate, was left open as they were using it to get a mattress out of the room.
Their 1-year-old son was left sitting on a toddler bed approximately five feet from the open door. Police said the mother had left the room for a moment while the father was still moving things in the room.
They then heard a relative scream from the first floor and learned the child had fallen out of the open door onto the ground, 13 feet below. Despite a few pieces of wood protruding from the side of the house, the child missed them and landed straight on the ground.
Lakewood-Busti police, firefighters and EMTs were called to the scene and the baby was taken to WCA Hospital. Fearing the boy might have more serious injuries, he was taken to Children's Hospital in Buffalo. Miraculously, the child didn't sustain any serious injuries and has since been released from the hospital.
"This is a situation that could and should have been prevented," said Sgt. Investigator Paul Gustafson with the Lakewood-Busti Police Department. "There were several family members in the house that could have been watching the child in a safer room. Young children can move very fast and it only takes turning your head for a second for life to change."
The boy is being looked after by Child Protective Services and has been released to the custody of his grandmother.
The second story door has since been removed and the hole was boarded up. Gustafson said the village zoning office has been made aware of the situation and will follow-up if needed.
Both Thomas and Kayla Berry have been scheduled to appear in Busti Town Court on Aug. 24.
