Boy, 3, dies after fall from 17th floor of Chicago building

CHICAGO (AP) — The death of 3-year-old boy who died after plunging from the 17th floor window of a Chicago apartment building is being investigated by police and child welfare officials, authorities said.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the boy Wednesday as Lamar Roach Jr. of Chicago and said an autopsy would be conducted Thursday.

Chicago police said the boy may have pushed out a screen in the window Tuesday night before he fell from the 17th floor apartment on the city’s Near North Side.

He was found in bushes below and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said boy’s fatal plunge about 10:40 p.m. Tuesday was being investigated as an accident.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is also investigating the boy’s death, spokesman Bill McCaffrey told the Chicago Tribune. McCaffrey said the state agency had not previously had contact with the boy’s family.