CONCOURSE — A 2-year-old boy who neighbors described as "jolly" and "loved dogs" fell five stories to his death out of a window in The Bronx early Sunday morning, according to the NYPD.
Police found Nayvem Santos unresponsive at 691 Gerard Ave., near East 153rd Street, after the 4:20 a.m. incident, a building that has racked up more than 100 open quality of life violations.
The boy was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police say.
Investigators believe that Santos fell five stories out of the seventh floor window and onto a second floor landing.
According to a preliminary investigation, the toddler reached the window by climbing onto a chair in the kitchen, and his grandmother was asleep in a different room during the incident.
There did not appear to be any evidence of criminality.
The city's Administration for Children's Services is investigating the incident but declined to discuss whether Santos' family has had a history with the agency, according to an ACS spokesman.
The building has 125 open violations with New York's Department of Housing Preservation and Development, two of which are for defective window guards, but neither were for the apartment the toddler fell from.
That apartment had window guards, according to police.
Christine Taylor, who lives on the second floor and said she had known Santos since birth, described him as a happy child who liked candy and dogs.
"He used to go crazy every time he saw my dog," she said.
She referred to his death as a tragedy that she would not wish on anybody.
"He was always a jolly little baby," she said.
