Crime & Safety
3-Year-Old Girl Froze To Death After Falling Out Window: Coroner
"At this time there's no evidence to indicate it's nothing other than a terrible, horrific tragedy," the coroner told a local TV station.
ROCK ISLAND, IL — A 3-year-old girl froze to death Tuesday after falling out a window and getting stuck outside, police said.
Charlotte "Charlie" Handelman was found unconscious shortly before 7 a.m. in the 1500 block of 14 1/2 street, NBC affiliate KWQC reports. She was pronounced dead shortly afterward at a local hospital.
Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson told KWQC the girl sustained bruising and skull fractures after she fell from her home's second-story window, but an autopsy confirmed the preliminary cause of death was hypothermia.
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Officials are investigating the death as an accident.
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“At this time there’s no evidence to indicate it’s nothing other than a terrible, horrific tragedy,” Gustafson told the television station.
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