MORRIS HEIGHTS — Freddy Martin, the 9-year-old Bronx boy who was allegedly hurled from a rooftop and plummeted six stories to the sidewalk below, remained in grave condition Tuesday but was fighting to survive, officials said.
Freddy’s 17-year-old neighbor, Casmine Aska, dragged the younger boy onto the roof of their apartment building at 1545 Nelson Ave. on Friday night, lifted him up and tossed him over the edge, according to a criminal complaint.
Freddy was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and was put on life support and into a medically induced coma, officials said.
He suffered major injuries, including severe internal bleeding and broken bones in his arms and legs, according to the complaint.
On Tuesday, he was still clinging to his life, the Bronx District Attorney’s office confirmed.
While Freddy was conscious in the ambulance Friday and at the hospital, he named Aska as the person who threw him from the roof, according to the Bronx DA's office.
Aska has been charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.
During questioning, Aska admitted to raising Freddy off the roof, but said he dropped the boy by accident, according to the complaint.
“On the roof I grabbed Freddy around the legs. His feet were off the ground,” Aska told investigators, according to the complaint. “I turned around. I slipped and Freddy fell.”
Then Aska ran inside without calling 911, telling his mother about the accident or checking on the boy, the complaint continued.
“I did not check to see if Freddy was OK,” Aska is quoted as saying.
He added, confusingly, “I did not hear the thud until I went into the apartment,” the complaint said.
Aska pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment Sunday. The judge ordered him held without bail.
Neighbor Gina Ortiz, 30, a security officer, said she saw the flashing lights of ambulances soon after the time of Freddy’s fall on Friday and went to her window.
"I looked out and saw the kid laying on the sidewalk," she said. "His head was swollen real bad and he was bleeding from his left side. He was crying, moaning and asking for his mom."
"He's a good kid, very hyperactive,” she added, “and I seen him running up and down the stairs all the time."
Additional reporting by Paul Lomax
