Child Falls From Overlake Apartment Balcony While Parents Stepped Out

A 4-year-old boy was taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center after falling from a second-floor balcony while his parents had stepped out of the apartment, according to the Bellevue Police Department.

The downstairs neighbor at the Hampton Green Apartments, 4747 148th Ave. NE, Bellevue, heard the boy fall around 5 p.m. Thursday, said Bellevue police spokeswoman Officer Carla Iafrate.

The boy was lucky to have landed on bark and lanscaping, as opposed to something hard, and was conscious and talking when medics from the Redmond Fire Department arrived, Iafrate said.

The parents could not be located at the apartment when medics arrived, but were found shortly afterward, she said.

The parents told police that the family had moved to Bellevue from India three days before and had just stepped out to look at another apartment they were interested in, Iafrate said.

A detective was assigned to the case to ensure that the boy was not being left alone at home on a regular basis, she said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a young child may squeeze through a window opened as little as 5 inches. In an article written this year, the hospital suggests that parents should discourage play near windows and patio doors, which could lead to a fall through glass or through a screen. The hospital also suggests not storing or displaying anything a child could climb near a window.