Hotel guest breaks toddler's 4-story fall
A girl fell from a fourth-floor balcony of this Econo Lodge in Orlando on Wednesday night, authorities said.
April 21st, 2011
10:23 PM ET

Hotel guest breaks toddler's 4-story fall

A British woman who came to Florida as a tourist will leave as something of a hero.

Helen Beard was at an Orlando hotel's pool when she saw a 2-year-old girl hanging from one of the building's fourth-floor balcony railings on Wednesday night, the Orange County sheriff's office said, according to CNN affiliate WKMG.

Beard - on vacation from England - ran underneath the railing, and Jah-Nea Myles fell, striking the third-floor railing on the way down, sheriff's Cpl. Susan Soto told CNN, citing an officer's report. Beard caught Jah-Nea, but the child slipped from her arms and struck the ground, and witnesses called 911, Soto said.

Despite the fall, the girl - who was taken to a hospital - suffered no injuries, bruising or scratches and was in good health, medical personnel told a sheriff's officer. The officer also said the girl was playful and did not appear to be in pain, Soto said.

"It was a miracle" the child wasn't injured, sheriff's spokeswoman Denise Rollins said, according to WKMG.

The girl's mother, Helena Myles, who was staying at the hotel, told investigators she had left the child with a friend who was staying in an adjacent room, according to Soto. The friend said she was in a bathroom when she heard screaming coming from outside. She then looked outside and saw Jah-Nea on the ground with Beard, Soto said.

Beard told investigators she believed Jah-Nea may have slipped through the railing that was lining the fourth-floor balcony, according to the sheriff's office.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating, but no charges were pending as of Thursday morning, according to WKMG.

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Filed under: Florida
soundoff (103 Responses)
  1. SkyKIng

    3 floors beneath the 4th, about 27 feet to the ground, about 23 to the arms of Ms. Beard. The strike against the 3rd floor rail slowed the acceleration due to gravity at about 18 feet above her arms. She didn't catch the child, she just broke the fall, so the child slipped the last 4 feet to the ground at a sufficiently slow speed to prevent injury.
    Nice job, Ms. Beard. You and Lady Luck got together and saved the child from serious injury or worse.

    April 23, 2011 at 9:25 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Bob Lawson

    If she had dropped the kid, SHE would have been sued.

    April 24, 2011 at 12:45 am | Report abuse |
    • pcrepairtools

      It's called good samaritan law, idiot. She wouldn't be able to get sued HERP DERP

      May 14, 2011 at 7:16 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Henry

    So is the baby 1 years old or 2? on the CNN PAGE it says a 1 year old on the blog it states a 2 year old regardless it was still scary but just wanted clarification.

    April 24, 2011 at 4:10 am | Report abuse |
  4. chrissy

    ah i just love happy endings! and ole lady i told you jazz was one smart cookie and she would know it wasnt you talkin smack about her! so my sista from anutha mutha u need to trust me gf. im smarter than i look lol

    April 25, 2011 at 4:32 am | Report abuse |
  5. chrissy

    and nick be careful what u say sometimes karma has a way of biting u in the a$$

    April 25, 2011 at 4:45 am | Report abuse |
  6. Unbelievable

    She was faster than the sound and the light. The falling child was slower than a huge stone. I think there is no gravity in this earth anymore. So she is really super spiderwoman.

    April 25, 2011 at 5:32 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Sue

    Jazzzzy, please go to sleep.

    April 26, 2011 at 12:42 am | Report abuse |
  8. Major Wood

    If you're going to lock yourself in the bathroom to pinch off a loaf, at least take the kid inside with you. They're two years old, for God's sake – I really doubt if they'll mind too much! DON"T let them out of eyesight for even 10 seconds!

    April 30, 2011 at 6:46 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Litiginous

    Uhuh. And will the mother be prosecuted? She's obviously unfit. Ms. Noxema, or whatever her name is, probably busy sucking on the pipe.

    May 6, 2011 at 8:23 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Ryanzzzz

    ""It was a miracle" the child wasn't injured, sheriff's spokeswoman Denise Rollins said, according to WKMG"

    No, it wasn't a miracle, it was Helen Beard.

    May 14, 2011 at 1:20 pm | Report abuse |
  11. HAK

    Nice! Happy ending! If ithappened to a guy , the mother would be screaming and call 911 that the guy was tryng to kidnap the child.

    May 16, 2011 at 5:24 am | Report abuse |
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