According to police in Scarborough, a woman was entering the building with her three children when the unit plummeted to the ground and hit the girl, CTV News Toronto reported. The child was in a stroller at the time, Constable Caroline de Kloet told CBC on Tuesday.
Here is the air conditioning unit that fell and struck a child in Scarborough today. The child was critically injured. https://t.co/ZSqtHdXFFx pic.twitter.com/zMSF6sL4ct
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) November 12, 2019
The child was taken to an area hospital in critical condition and died, police said.
"I heard screaming," Sherene Bromfield, a resident of the building, told CTV News Toronto. "I ran on my balcony and I looked over and I could see her trying to revive her daughter.
"They said they had a pulse, a low pulse, and she just started crying."
The child's siblings, ages 5 and 7, saw the incident, the television network reported.
In a statement, officials with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) said it was “deeply saddened” by the death of the child.
A toddler who was struck by an air conditioning unit that fell from a building in Toronto has died in hospital, police confirm. https://t.co/TPRgfXG7H5
— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) November 12, 2019
“Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time, and we offer them our sincere condolences. TCHC staff are onsite at the building today to assist tenants who require support,” the statement said.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said the toddler's death was a "terrible tragedy."
"My thoughts are with the family involved and the people in that building. I'm sure it is traumatizing for them," CBC reported.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
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