Tot survives 3-story fall from balcony, missing spiked gate

PATERSON, N.J. – A toddler has survived a three-story fall off a New Jersey balcony, landing on the grass and barely missing a spiked metal gate.

Authorities say the 1-year-old boy was being watched by his 13-year-old sister Wednesday night and was left alone on the balcony in Paterson when he climbed on a chair and toppled over the railing.

Police say the boy barely missed a spiked metal gate on the way down and landed on the grass. Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale says the toddler’s mother was asleep and his father was in the shower at the time, and a security guard who witnessed the fall contacted police.

The boy was taken to a hospital, where he is under observation and expected to survive.