The distraught family of Chloe Wiegand have broken their silence after the 18-month-old fell to her death through an 11th floor window of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday.
Indiana-born Chloe, the daughter of South Bend Police Officer Alan Wiegand his wife Kimberly, was said to be enjoying the children’s play area on the Freedom of the Seas when she slipped from her grandfather’s arms through an open window, falling more than 10 stories onto the concrete of the Pan American II dock in the Puerto Rican capital.
But the Wiegand family‘s attorney Michael Winkleman has disputed the initial claims, telling the Today Show Chloe’s maternal grandfather Salvatore Anello sat her on the ledge of the window in the play area with the belief it was safely locked.
WATCH this video for updates on the tragic death:
Speaking on the American breakfast TV show, Mr Winkleman recounted the family’s version of the tragic accident.
“Essentially, her grandfather lifts her up and puts her on a railing, and where he thinks that there is glass there because it’s clear, it turns out there was no glass there.
“She goes to bang on the glass like she would have at one of those hockey rinks [where she watched her brother’s hockey games], and the next thing you know, she’s gone.”
Mr Winkleman said the Wiegand family believe the Royal Caribbean cruise line is criminally negligent and responsible for Chloe’s death.
“Why in the world would you leave a window open in an entire glass wall of windows in a kid’s area?” the family’s lawyer asked.
“I mean, why would you have that kind of hidden danger without any warning, without any sign, without any notice?
“I do think there is going to be blame, significant blame on the cruise line… I will do everything I can to hold them accountable for what appears to me to be negligence.”
On Monday, passengers aboard the Freedom of the Seas recalled hearing a deep cry of pain from Chloe’s mother Kimberly.
“We heard the screams of the families because we were close,” a witness told San Juan’s Telemundo PR.
“A scream of pain, of that nature. It does not compare to any other scream.”
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying they were “deeply saddened” by the news.
Puerto Rico police are investigating the accident to find out whether the window was always left open or if it had been opened by a passenger.
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