A 10-year-old girl died yesterday after falling four or five floors from an exterior stairway of a Makiki condominium.

The girl, who lived at the 11-story Crown Thurston condominium, was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead at 8:11 a.m.

An autopsy is scheduled today to determine the cause of death.

The girl's parents live on the fifth floor, according to a resident, and police had taped off the stairway between the fourth and fifth floors.

The condominium has two elevators and the exterior stairway, which is a fire exit.

Police Maj. Clayton Kau said yesterday that the incident has been classified as an “;unattended death,”; and there is no suspicion of foul play.

Kau said the investigation was continuing and that police have not determined why the girl was taking the stairs or the floor from which she fell. He said her parents were too grief-stricken to be interviewed in the morning.

Kau said police received a call at about 7:30 a.m. and saw the girl lying on the lawn in a first-floor outdoor recreation area, where she was being treated by fire emergency workers.

  Young Girl Dead After Fall At Makiki High Rise

     

 

A young girl died after falling from a stairwell at a high rise apartment building in Makiki.

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She was stabilized and taken to a hospital where she died.

The condominium was built in 1967, and many of its residents knew the girl and her parents, said Theone Vredenburg, who has lived at the building for more than 30 years.

She said the parents were “;devastated.”;

“;She was a wonderful little girl,”; Vredenburg said. “;It has affected all of us. ... We're just going to have to band together - however we can.”;

Vredenburg said the girl was quiet and respectful.

“;She never created any noise or problem,”; she said.

The height of the guard railing on the stairway at the Crown Thurston is about 36 inches, lower than the city's 2009 standard for construction of new apartments but in compliance with the code that allowed its construction more than 40 years ago.

Tim Hiu, the city's acting building division chief, said the International Building Code, now used by the city, requires a railing height of 42 inches on stairways.

Hiu said he thinks the 42-inch height is better but does not know the reason why it was raised, but he said it does seem to follow a trend.

“;Historically, people have gotten taller,”; he said.