Three-year-old falls 8 stories from window at high-rise building in Independence

A 3-year-old boy suffered critical injuries after falling about eight stories out of an apartment window at an Independence high-rise, a fire department spokesman said.

Firefighters responded shortly after 10:05 a.m. to provide medical aid to a child who had fallen from the high-rise apartment building at Independence Towers, 728 N. Jennings Road, said Battalion Chief Eric Michel with the Independence Fire Department.

Upon their arrival, crews discovered that the child suffered multiple serious injuries after falling approximately eight stories from an apartment window.

The boy was was rushed to a hospital and immediately transferred to another Kansas City hospital, Michel said.

Independence police were investigating the fall, according to Officer Kelley Rupert, a spokeswoman for the police department.

The child’s fall is just the latest in a series of issues that have plagued the 122-unite apartment building.

Earlier this year, residents joined KC Tenants, a tenant union, to complain of cockroaches, mice and other pests. They also said that during the summer, there is frequently no air conditioning and in the winter, no heat.

In previous interviews with The Star, tenant have described poor living conditions in the building, which until this spring was managed by Tango Management, which is owned by FTW Investments, a company that managed a complex The Star reported on in January 2023 for leaving tenants for days wihtout heat in the winter.

A Jackson County judge in May appointed Trigild Inc., a property management company, as receiver of the property, after FTW Investment allegedly failed to pay back Fannie Mae for the loan and maintaining the building according to the loan agreement.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.