Lower Manhattan 2-year-old survives 3-story window fall

LOWER EAST SIDE (WABC) -- A toddler is lucky to be alive after falling out of a third-floor window of his Lower Manhattan apartment overnight Wednesday.

The incident happened around 1:30 a.m. on Chrystie Street on the Lower East Side. The 2-year-old boy's fall was broken by a trash bin before he hit the sidewalk.

Miraculously, the boy suffered only bumps and bruises and was alert and awake as he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Earl Boyd was sitting across the street at the time, and he reported hearing a startling thump.

"When I heard it, the baby had already hit (the trash bin) and came down," he said. "Then the ambulance came, and the baby was still crying. So I felt good, because if the baby's crying, at least the baby's still alive."

The boy's panicked grandmother was asleep at the time and had no idea the toddler was even awake.

"I opened my eyes, everybody's running and screaming, 'What happened? What happened?'" she said. "So I was running too."

The apartment has window guards on all the windows except one.

Police are investigating, but no criminality is suspected and no charges have been filed.