'Bubbly' Boy, 14, Dies In Tower Block Fall

A 14-year-old boy has fallen to his death from the sixth floor of a tower block after opening his bedroom window.


Jovanni flived on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, southeast London

The accident was discovered when Jovanni Peddie's eight-year-old brother looked out the window afterwards and spotted him lying on a second floor balcony beneath, his family said. The schoolboy, who dreamed of becoming an architect, had stopped breathing when paramedics arrived and was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

His distraught aunt, Cherry Peddie, described his death as a "tragedy" and blamed it on faulty windows at the southeast London estate he lived on. A GCSE pupil at Westminster City School, Jovanni was on his Easter holidays when the accident happened on Wednesday afternoon in Missenden block on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth. Ms Peddie, 43, described him as "happy, bubbly and religious". She said: "He was a lovely boy: bright, intelligent, he wanted to be an architect when he left school.”

His parents, Luanda, 33, who works in administration, and Tony, 42, a mature psychology student at Southwark College, are said to be devastated. "They don't think it's real, they think it's a dream," Ms Peddie said. "You hear stories about this sort of thing but you never expect it to happen on your doorstep." Jovanni had three younger brothers aged eight, three and two, and a five-month-old sister. The family has been moved from the flat to temporary accommodation. Ms Peddie described the fall as "an accident waiting to happen" because windows in the block were not properly secured. A post-mortem examination has been carried out and Metropolitan Police are investigating.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Teenager-Jovanni-Peddie-Falls-To-Death-From-A-London-Tower-Block-After-Opening-His-Window/Article/201104415977663?lpos=UK_News_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15977663_Teenager_Jovanni_Peddie_Falls_To_Death_From_A_London_Tower_Block_After_Opening_His_Window


A very sad story but I can't help thinking that there may be more to this story. How does a 14 year old fall to his death opening a window? It this is truly the case these flats are a death trap

What a tragedy, A young life wasted. Accidents do happen, it's often nobody's fault. must be devastating for the family.

fred bloggs wrote:What a tragedy, A young life wasted. Accidents do happen, it's often nobody's fault. must be devastating for the family.

Good Evening Fred x

Terribly sad for all concerned. I hope that a full investigation will be undertaken and all measures taken to ensure that this cannot happen again

I agree, accidents do happen and there is not always anyone at fault. However, there are almost always lessons to be learnt with hindsight

Nasty nasty tower blocks, I hate them.

Boy, 14, falls 40ft to his death as peek-a-boo game goes wrong

A teenage boy died in a freak accident when he was catapulted out of a sixth-floor flat window while playing peek-a-boo with his younger brother. Jovanni Peddie, 14, fell 40ft to his death as his eight-year-old brother looked on helplessly from an adjacent window.



The teenager, a talented footballer who dreamed of becoming an architect, suffered catastrophic internal injuries and died in hospital. His mother Luanda, 33, blamed her son’s death on the ‘unsafe’ windows which have an unusual rotating hinge and open extremely wide. She said: ‘He and his brother were playing a game of peek-a-boo out the window. Jovanni was in the bedroom and his eight-year-old brother was in the living room. He must have leant out the window trying to spy his brother and it flipped and he was knocked out. I didn’t hear anything. I only found out when I noticed the window was wide open. I went in his room to tell him to close it and couldn’t see him anywhere. Then when I looked out the window I just saw him lying there.’



Jovanni, the eldest of five children, is the third person to die at the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, south-east London, in recent years after falling from a window. Mrs Peddie, who lives there with her husband Tony, 42, called for the entire block, which is managed by Southwark Council, to be demolished. ‘It’s not safe at all. The council are at fault. In my eyes they have failed my son and he paid for it with his life.’ She added Jovanni ‘set a good example to anyone who met him’.

A spokesman for the council said: ‘This is a tragic case and our thoughts are with the family.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379619/Boy-14-falls-sixth-floor-death-aunt-blames-faulty-bedroom-window.html#ixzz1KKwnTnId


Well the council are certainly right about this being a tragic case This is the third death, why on earth wasn't anything done about it after the first???

This building sounds like a death trap

I agree FtL, once you can call it a freak accident, twice something should be done; even if only severe warnings being issued. They need to do something about this now

eilzel wrote:I agree FtL, once you can call it a freak accident, twice something should be done; even if only severe warnings being issued. They need to do something about this now

once is a warning and something should be done...twice calls for the councillor responsible to be hung.....

victorismyhero wrote:

once is a warning and something should be done...twice calls for the councillor responsible to be hung.....

Hi Victor and Eilzel x

If nothing is done about this now and another incident occurs, criminal charges should apply. Unnecessary and unforgivable

Feelthelove wrote:

Hi Victor and Eilzel x

If nothing is done about this now and another incident occurs, criminal charges should apply. Unnecessary and unforgivable

Totally agree, it would be death caused by neglect imo, someone has to take responsibility.

Morning btw

eilzel wrote:

Totally agree, it would be death caused by neglect imo, someone has to take responsibility.

Morning btw

Morning Eilzel x Hope the BBQ went well yesterday. My turn today

Back to your comment - exactly, someone should be held responsible. If these were privately owned flats the property owner would have faced criminal investigations after the first death occurred

Feelthelove wrote:

Morning Eilzel x Hope the BBQ went well yesterday. My turn today

Back to your comment - exactly, someone should be held responsible. If these were privately owned flats the property owner would have faced criminal investigations after the first death occurred

I think after the first death he/she could be forgiven. But yes things have gone too far now

BBQ when well btw, I had more than enough drink too for sure

This weather is amazing, let's hope it stick for next weekend; enjoy your barbie FtL

Sorry, I must be missing something here, the "child" was 14 years of age, if at that age you can't work out it's dangerous to mess around with outside windows at 14 storeys high (or whatever it was) then it's going to long before he did something else stupid!

Why is it always someone's "fault" and people just have the common-sense to work out that living that high is dangerous, if you're going to mess around near the windows?

MrDoodles wrote:Sorry, I must be missing something here, the "child" was 14 years of age, if at that age you can't work out it's dangerous to mess around with outside windows at 14 storeys high (or whatever it was) then it's going to long before he did something else stupid!

Why is it always someone's "fault" and people just have the common-sense to work out that living that high is dangerous, if you're going to mess around near the windows?

This was the third death Mr Doodles and apparently the windows "have an unusual rotating hinge and open extremely wide".

They don't sound like safe homes for families to me


Eilzel - glad you had a good time and thanks, will do x

Feelthelove wrote:

So just a "normal" old style rotating window hinge then!

All the more reason, to keep clear of them then, at that height!

MrDoodles wrote:

So just a "normal" old style rotating window hinge then!

All the more reason, to keep clear of them then, at that height!

They are quoted as being unusual so without seeing them I don't know Mr Doodles. However, don't you think that after the first two deaths the council should have carried out an investigation. At least put limiters/stays on the windows to prevent them being opened wide enough for someone to fall through?

These are family homes after all. My office has windows which are large enough to fall through when opened if you're caught off balance or not expecting them to open so far - the property owner added limiters to ensure this doesn't happen. Why shouldn't councils be held responsible if they are not providing safe homes for children?

Accidents do happen I know but it appears this one could have been prevented