In a sad story out of Chicago, Illinois, a 16 year old boy with Down Syndrome has fallen down a trash chute at the Gold Coast luxury high rise. Charles Manley, who also has autism, fell 46 stories down into a trash compactor. Investigators are trying to determine how the teenagers got into the trash chute.
The parents have an alarm and a bell that sounds when the door to their apartment is opened. They were woken up about 11:00 p.m. when the alarm started going off. They quickly realized that their son was gone. After placing a call to 911, they started searching for the boy. Emergency responders found the teenager on the ground level in the trash compactor. The Cook County medical examiner confirmed that the teen had died from multiple injuries suffered in the fall.
The entire Manley family is well known within the Special Olympics. The teenager’s father, John, is a former member of the board for Special Olympics International. The president of the Illinois offices of the Special Olympics expressed their condolences to the family.
News of the teen’s death spread quickly throughout the high rise building. Some wondered how in the world the tragedy even managed to happen. Residents said that trash chutes located on each floor are about four feet up off the ground. The openings are only about foot and a half square. There is door that blocks the opening.
The teen was well-known and well-liked in the building and he will be greatly missed. Several residents described the boy as a “wonderful young man” who was always quick to help someone. One woman who works for another family in the building showed one of the reporters for a local Chicago newspaper that she could easily fit inside the trash chute. Others wonder about the safety of their own children now when it comes to the trash chutes.
