2 weeks Ago
An 8-year-old boy died last week after a large statue fell on him at a luxury Phoenix resort, authorities said. One of the Arizona Biltmore’s outdoor statues fell over and landed on the child, who suffered a serious head injury, the Phoenix Fire Department told CNN affiliate KPNX . Around 8:45 a.
m. on November 27, responding officers located the injured child and took him to a local hospital in critical condition, the Phoenix Police Department told CNN Tuesday. The boy died from his injuries at the hospital a day later, the department said.
The child’s name has not been released. “There are no signs of foul play at this time,” the police department said, calling the death a “tragic accident.” The incident is under investigation and authorities do not know why the statue fell or how the boy was struck by it, Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller told KPNX.
“Our top priority is the safety of our guests, and our thoughts are with the family impacted by today’s events,” the Arizona Biltmore told KPNX in a statement. CNN has reached out to the Arizona Biltmore and the Phoenix Fire Department for more information. The piece that fell was one of 19 “solemn sprite” statues – which were gifted to the Arizona Biltmore in 1985 – designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and artist Alfonso Ianelli in 1914 and were originally created for the Midway Gardens in Chicago, according to the resort’s website .
The “guardian” statues depict mythological beings that represent the building blocks of nature, according to the website. Broken pieces from the large fallen statue were scattered around the lawn outside the resort, video from the scene showed. The statue was made of concrete, Keller told CNN affiliate KTVK .
As part of historic preservation efforts, the hotel is working to preserve the sprite statues, the website says . The hotel – which opened in 1929 and was listed on the Phoenix Historic Property Register in 2009 – is also undergoing the final stages of a multi-million dollar project to restore its original architecture..
