Toddler Dies When Wall Falls In Orland Mall Store
ORLAND PARK, IL Sept 2 2019 The 2-year-old girl who died after a clothing store display fell on her at Orland Square Mall Tuesday has been identified as Alexa Martinez of Harvey, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
According to Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, the girl had been shopping with her grandmother, aunt and four other children at Akira Tuesday afternoon. The children were playing near two temporary steel walls when one of them fell on Martinez.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning, a visibly distraught McCarthy explained that the walls were about eight feet high and three feet wide, and that each weighed 75 to 100 pounds. It is not clear how the wall fell, he said, and police are continuing to investigate.
“Like many of you, I am a parent and a grandparent, and in 47 years of law enforcement, there is nothing more tragic than the death of a child,” McCarthy said. “And we pray for the family.”
According to McCarthy, people nearby who witnessed the incident rushed to pull the wall off of the girl. A doctor and nurse who were shopping at the mall nearby attended to the toddler until paramedics arrived just before 2 p.m. They were able to restart her heartbeat and breathing, he said. Mall security responded immediately with automated external defibrillators, but they were not needed because the little girl’s heart was beating, McCarthy added.
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He confirmed reports that emergency dispatchers were flooded with calls from people who were trying to help the toddler.
Martinez was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead.
The shoe section of Akira remains closed until further inspection, McCarthy said. The clothing side of the store is open. It is not clear whether the store has been cited for building violations. The matter is still under investigation.
“We are devastated by this tragic event,” Akira co-owner Eric Hsueh said in a statement. “We are working to collect all the information.”
An Orland Square spokesperson also offered a statement: “Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the child. Questions regarding this tragic accident should be directed to Akira or to the Orland Park Police Department, which is conducting an investigation and can answer questions.”
McCarthy said that counseling will be available to all who responded to help the girl.
