8-Year-Old Girl Dies After Marble Handrail Falls on Her in New York City: 'Such a Happy Child'

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An 8-year-old girl died on Monday after a marble handrail collapsed on top of her, the New York Police Department confirms to PEOPLE.

The department says the accident occurred at a residence in the Westchester Square neighborhood of the Bronx. Officers arrived around 8 p.m. local time and found the girl with trauma to her head, authorities say.

A preliminary investigation found the girl suffered extensive injuries when a “marble handrail became detached from the front of a house” and fell on top of her, NYPD Detective Sophia Mason tells PEOPLE.

“All we heard was commotion,” neighbor Sergio Valentin told theNew York Postof the tragedy. “My neighbor called and asked if my kid was over there playing. He wasn’t, but we ran over to see what happened.”

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“She was such a happy child,” Barbara Odai, a neighbor, told thePost. “I cannot imagine what the parents are going through.”

Relatives told the outlet that Fatima had been trying to squeeze through the handrail when it collapsed. Her mother was inside the house cooking at the time of the accident, they said.

Public records from theNYC Department of Buildingsshow several complaints made about the property since 2016.

Earlier this year,seven students died in Boliviawhen a metal railing broke on the fourth floor of a building at their university.

source: people.com