Baby survives three-story fall window in Gary

July 18, 2012 (GARY, Ind.) (WLS) -- A mother from Gary, Ind. is calling her son her 'miracle baby' after he survived a fall from a third-story window.

"He's at that stage where he hits against things and he might have just hit it too hard and it gave in and once it came out, then he went out with it, because when my neighbor found him she found the screen on the ground," said Tiesha Powell.

Powell kisses son and holds him a little tighter after he survived a three story fall out of thier bedroom window. A neighbor found the 11 month old on the ground after she heard a faint cry. Powell says the neighbor thought it was a cat at first but quickly discovered it was a baby.

"Lord forbid he could have been dead so I'm just sitting here extremely grateful today that I'm able to talk to my son," said Powell.

Powell says she had been complaining to her landlord since last summer about what she called loose screens.

"It just bothers me that it took my son to fall out of a window for them to replace the screen," said Powell.

Larry Stone is the president of Safety Matters, a childproofing and protective services company. He says every year 4,700 children fall out of window and 20 of the injuries are fatal. Stone says there are several preventive methods, including removable bars.

"Screens don't keep kids in, they are not meant for kids, they don't hold a child's weight, no matter how solid that screen is in there, a child will fall through it, their weight is much heavier than what a screen can hold," said Stone.

Gary Police called Child Protective Services, but officials are calling the fall an accident. Keon turns one next month. His mother says she can't wait to tell him when he turns 16 that he survived falling three stories.

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local, cheryl burton

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