Toddler critical after fall from window

June 20, 1997

By DAVE McMILLION

Staff Writer, Martinsburg

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A toddler who fell out of a third-story apartment window was in critical condition Thursday at a Fairfax, Va., hospital, officials said.

Megan Mills, 2, of 7331/2 Winchester Ave., crawled out of a kitchen window in her mother's apartment about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to firefighters and neighbors.

The girl struck several roof overhangs before landing on concrete behind the apartment building, said Scott Stroop of the Martinsburg Fire Department.

Angelina Wolak said her husband was getting dressed Wednesday morning when he saw something fall past their bedroom window.

She said her husband did not realize it was a baby.

"He thought it was the kids playing ball or something," she said.

"It's awful. I heard someone screaming names, and I just thought they were hollering for their kids," Wolak said.

Megan lives in the apartment with her mother and another sibling, Wolak said.

Nobody was at the apartment on Thursday.

Megan was taken to City Hospital, then transferred to Fairfax Hospital, Stroop said.

Hospital officials did not describe the nature of the child's injuries.

The apartment building is an older stucco complex just west of Weller's Tavern.