Toddler struck, killed by falling wall at Orland Square Mall

ORLAND PARK, Ill. (August 28, 2019) – A 2-year-old girl was fatally injured at Orland Square Mall Tuesday afternoon when a heavy steel wall fell onto her while she was shopping with her family.

According to police, Alexandra Martinez was inside the Orland Square Mall’s Akira store with her grandmother, aunt and four other children when the incident occurred. Video obtained from the scene revealed the girl and at least one other child were playing near two temporary steel walls that were about 8 feet high and 3 feet wide when the walls “somehow fell over,” NBC 5 reports.

The walls each weighed between 75 and 100 pounds, authorities said.

S doctor and nurse who were at the mall began administering CPR until emergency responders arrived at the scene. When officers and paramedics arrived, they continued performing medical treatment on the child, who was then taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where she later died.

It is still not exactly clear what caused the walls to fall. The building department was called to the scene following the tragic incident but had not notified police of any building code violations as of Wednesday morning.

Police are still awaiting a report from medical examiner’s office on a cause of death but indicated the child had suffered head injuries.

The shoe portion of the store will remain closed until the city’s building department can return for another inspection,  but the clothing side of the store reopened Wednesday.