An eighth-grade student who fell last week from a second-floor stairwell at a middle school in Hickory, N.C., has died from his injuries.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the boy, 13, reportedly lost his balance on March 25 in the stairwell at Northview Middle School and fell. He was airlifted to a Charlotte hospital, where he died on Monday.
The student, whose identity has not been disclosed, was trying “to slide down the stairwell on his stomach” at the time, Fox46 reports.
Northview Middle School Principal Nala Saddler-Sherrill posted a message on Facebook on March 28, acknowledging the incident.
“We have all experienced a very difficult week—as one of our 8th grade students took a fall from the 2nd floor stairwell this past Monday,” said the post.
School officials said on Facebook they were going to make sure additional counselors were on campus this week for students in distress.
There if a 4-foot-high “protective railing” along the stairs where the accident occurred, WSOC-TV reported.
School district officials told WSOC a camera is mounted over the stairs, and they are reviewing the footage to see what happened just before the boy fell.
