Post by Snitsky on Apr 15, 2009 17:01:05 GMT -5
A 9-year-old wrestling fan jumped off his Brooklyn apartment roof wearing a homemade parachute - a fatal imitation of his favorite video game character, friends said.
Damori Miles' broken body was found on the ground outside the Albany houses about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Wrapped around his body was the string and plastic bag he use to craft his makeshift parachute, police sources said. The boy died at Interfaith hospital an hour later, police said.
"It's terrible. The kids try to imitate what they see and they think they can fly," said family friend Sumore Murrel, 29.
She said the third-grader was supposed to have a play date with her two children Shakar 11, and Kevin, 9, Tuesday night, but never showed.
"His older sister came knocking on the door looking for him at 7:30. She had no idea he was dead. None of us did," Murrel said.
Instead, the little boy had left his 10-floor apartment on Bergen Street and walked up to the building's roof.
Shakar Murrel, Damori's best friend, believed his pal jumped off the roof to imitate his favorite PlayStation2 video game "Smackdown Raw."
"He tried to do a swan dive like Jeff Harding does in Smackdown. That was his favorite game. He played it all the time. That was what he was trying to do. If I would have seen him up there I would have told him not to do it."
The roof door was still unlocked and open Wednesday morning, and the alarm that was supposed to go off was broken, neighbors said.
"I was sitting inside and I heard a thump. I looked out my window and saw the boy on the ground. He was on his back and his clothes were ripped off. There was foam coming from his mouth. It was horrible," said Chiquita Jones, 25.
"The door to the roof should have been locked. Damori didn't have to die," she said.
Damori's mother told detectives she had gone to the store and came home to find her son on the ground, police sources said.
Sumore Murrel said she wasn't sure her kids were going to be playing the video games anymore.
"I need to keep a better eye on what they are playing or watching. Kids are so impressionable," she said.
SOURCE:NYDAILYNEWS.COM
Damori Miles' broken body was found on the ground outside the Albany houses about 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Wrapped around his body was the string and plastic bag he use to craft his makeshift parachute, police sources said. The boy died at Interfaith hospital an hour later, police said.
"It's terrible. The kids try to imitate what they see and they think they can fly," said family friend Sumore Murrel, 29.
She said the third-grader was supposed to have a play date with her two children Shakar 11, and Kevin, 9, Tuesday night, but never showed.
"His older sister came knocking on the door looking for him at 7:30. She had no idea he was dead. None of us did," Murrel said.
Instead, the little boy had left his 10-floor apartment on Bergen Street and walked up to the building's roof.
Shakar Murrel, Damori's best friend, believed his pal jumped off the roof to imitate his favorite PlayStation2 video game "Smackdown Raw."
"He tried to do a swan dive like Jeff Harding does in Smackdown. That was his favorite game. He played it all the time. That was what he was trying to do. If I would have seen him up there I would have told him not to do it."
The roof door was still unlocked and open Wednesday morning, and the alarm that was supposed to go off was broken, neighbors said.
"I was sitting inside and I heard a thump. I looked out my window and saw the boy on the ground. He was on his back and his clothes were ripped off. There was foam coming from his mouth. It was horrible," said Chiquita Jones, 25.
"The door to the roof should have been locked. Damori didn't have to die," she said.
Damori's mother told detectives she had gone to the store and came home to find her son on the ground, police sources said.
Sumore Murrel said she wasn't sure her kids were going to be playing the video games anymore.
"I need to keep a better eye on what they are playing or watching. Kids are so impressionable," she said.
SOURCE:NYDAILYNEWS.COM
