2-Year-Old Girl Dies After Steel Wall Falls on Her at Illinois Mall Store
A 2-year-old girl has tragically died after being crushed by part of a store display at a mall in Orland Park, Illinois.
On Tuesday, Alexandra “Alexa” Martinez was with her grandmother and aunt when she and four other related children decided to play around in Orland Square Mall’s Akira clothing store, WGN 9 reported.
That’s when a temporary wall in the shoe department fell down on top of her.
“It appears that two temporarily steel walls, approximately 8 feet high and 3 feet wide, somehow fell over upon the victim,” Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy told WGN 9.
“The temporary wall dividers weighed between 75 and 100 pounds each,” he added.
A nurse and doctor, who witnessed the incident, along with other bystanders rushed to Martinez’s side as they waited for paramedics to arrive, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Orland Park Police Cmdr. Eric Rossi explained to the Chicago Tribune that the child was “knocked unconscious” by the steel walls and was “unresponsive.”
Martinez briefly regained a pulse before she was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to the newspaper.
“I think everything that could have been done was done under the circumstances,” McCarthy told WXYZ Detroit.
RELATED: Granger Smith’s Son, River, 3, Died in a Drowning Accident at Home, Singer’s Rep Confirms
Orland Park Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Akira also did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The store remains closed following the incident, the Chicago Tribune reported.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
