Police rule 4-year-old who fell from Sanibel building accident

A child fell three stories from a building and was taken to a nearby hospital. Sanibel Police Department ruled it an accident Monday.

On Sunday, mother Melissa Cooks told us her 4-year-old son, Archie, fell more than 25 feet out a window. Fire officials confirmed the boy fell from the window of a building at Shell Island Beach Club on Sanibel Island.

“I ran to the window and saw him lying there and started screaming for someone to call 911 and ran downstairs and picked him up,” Cooks said.

Jackson Madden heard the screams for help made by Cooks.

“I heard the mom screaming, ‘Call 911,’ and then screaming the kid’s name,” Madden said. “So I whipped out my phone and called 911 and got over there. And she was holding him.”

Cooks said the whole thing happened quick.

“I looked away for a few seconds,” Cooks said. “And the next thing I know, he had fallen out, pushed the screen out and fallen onto the ground.”

Archie was rushed to the hospital and police taped off the building where he fell to investigate.

“Miraculously, he has only right now a collapsed lung,” Cooks said. “But obviously we’re very lucky.”

The window was on the second floor of the building. But it was atop the third story of the building, since the building sits atop a parking garage.

Cooks said the resort has not remedied anything since the whole thing happened.

“Our child almost died, so we’re not going to come back here and stay on third floor condo that has an unsafe window,” Cooks said. “I don’t think any child should. All he did is lean against it and he fell out.”

We reached out to Shell Island Beach Club to see if it plans to implement any safety measures but did not hear back from them in time for air or publication.

After Sanibel police conducted their investigation, no charges were filed. The incident has been ruled an accident.

Trust WINK News to update you as more information becomes available.