A family in Washington state is grieving the loss of a 4-year-old girl who lost her life after she fell through a window in her family’s apartment building on the fifth floor. She didn’t die immediately, instead eventually succumbing to her injuries after she was taken to the hospital. Her mother, Najaha Chancellor, is struggling to grieve the loss of one child while having to raise and nurture the other three.
“I’m just trying to keep it together as any mother would try to do,” she told KIRO 7. “I still have three other kids to show I have to be strong for. So crying is going to make kids even more emotional. I’m never ever going to get over this because it’s different when it’s your child that you lose. It’s absolutely different.”
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The mother was alone with her four children.
Chancellor was watching her four children alone from the bathroom, which is connected to the bedroom. One of Chancellor’s children opened the window. Four-year-old Mi’layah was jumping on the bed near the window. Sadly, the innocent and common childhood activity soon turned into a tragedy.
“She bumped into… the screen fell off and she went down, and I completely lost it,” Chancellor explained. “As a mother, it’s your job. It’s your job to protect your children at all costs,” she continued.
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A Good Samaritan stopped to help.
After Mi’layah fell, witnesses told Fox 13 that a Good Samaritan came by to help before the paramedics arrived.
“I went around the back after I heard someone screaming,” Andre Alexander, who witnessed the aftermath, told KIRO 7. “When I went back there, I seen the young lady, the little girl had fell out the window.”
Alexander said another young man performed CPR for four and a half minutes. Sadly, it wasn’t enough. The King County Medical Examiner ruled Mi’layah’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.
Mi'layah's mother remembers her as a ray of sunshine.
In the days since the accident, on October 13, Chancellor has launched a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral costs. Any additional funds will go toward the care of her other children.
In the description for the fundraiser, Chancellor remembered her daughter as a ray of sunshine. “She had a deep love for her family, especially her siblings, with whom she loved to spend time playing, singing, and dancing,” the page reads. “Mi’layah’s favorite colors were pink and purple, reflecting her sweet and vibrant personality. She had a huge heart and was so kind, so caring, and always eager to help.”
'Her memory will forever be a part of our family,' her mother wrote.
The tribute also detailed Mi’layah’s favorite fruit, bananas, and her love of water. “Swimming was one of her greatest joys; she loved splashing around and enjoying the freedom the water gave her,” the page reads.
Chancellor described her daughter as smart, playful, and beautiful. “Her memory will forever be a part of our family,” she wrote. Thus far, the family’s GoFundMe has raised more than $5,000 of its $7,500 goal.
