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It seems their case is that he didn't know the window was open.
You've seen the video. The windows are tinted blue, there is no way to not know that they're open. Not attention, if he was close enough to the window to be holding a baby on the railing, he would have also felt the sea breeze coming in through the window.
I could understand if he was 20 feet away from the window and not realizing it was open, but to stand inches from it and not know? Not buying it.
Yes, the windows are sliders. I cannot believe anyone would hold up a child (of any age) on the railing near these windows. It is crazy and irresponsible. Unfortunately, I do not believe the family's version of the events.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AnnaGWS
Yes, the windows are sliders. I cannot believe anyone would hold up a child (of any age) on the railing near these windows. It is crazy and irresponsible. Unfortunately, I do not believe the family's version of the events.
Here are close-up pictures:
Your second thumbnail doesn't look like the railing in the video - it seems no one would put a child on that railing, even with a closed window.
I wonder which picture is accurate, for how the railing/window looked.
Here is a video of the 11th deck of the Freedom of the Seas. The windows are tinted blue. It's impossible to not notice which windows are closed and which are open.
We've been on Freedom of the Seas and it's true that with *many* windows open it's pretty clear what the deal is.
But it may have been much less obvious the window was open when the accident happened compared what's shown on the video. Multiple windows are open there, creating the dark blue tint where they overlap with some partially open making clear they are sliders.
Freedom of the Seas departs from Puerto Rico so it sounds like the passengers had just boarded. In the CNN article the family attorney states that:
"You have a wall of windows with one hidden hole," said Winkleman. Unknowingly, then, the grandfather places Chloe on the wood railing before the wall of windows, believing Chloe will bang on the glass just like she does at her brother's hockey games, "and the next thing he knows, she's gone," said the attorney. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/us/cr...nce/index.html
Given the timing, it may well be that all the windows had been shut by the crew (for cleaning), except for this one that a passenger had opened. And that the grandfather let the child now perched on the rail reach towards the "window," at which point she continued thru the opening.
Many accidents in retrospect may have been "avoidable" but the human eye and human judgment are not infallible. Sometimes more of our life is guided by chance than we would like to think. That's frightening.
Except that's not what happened. The windows slide, like a sliding glass door. They don't push out. The windows are also tinted blue, so it is easy to tell when a window is open.
You can see the windows in this video.
Tut, tut, the forum finger waggers don't like facts that contradict their contempt for other posters.
Your second thumbnail doesn't look like the railing in the video
look at the video at 1:17 and again at 1:21, it appears the railing in the video is the same railing in the picture.
Either way, for the child to have reached out to push at the glass I would imagine the child was not sitting with her back towards the windows. So how do you sit a child facing sideways or facing the windows on a rail that narrow without a tight grip to keep them from slipping from the rail, open window or no open window.
The latest report is that he sat her on the open window and he slipped losing his grip and she fell out. Whether he dangled her out the window or just sat her on it either way it was dangerous as proven by what happened. Someone on a cruise forum posted pics of the area showing that there are also railings in front of those windows. Poor child. Her family and anyone who witnessed the incident have my sympathies.
This version (that the grandfather slipped) appears to have come through the local Port Authority. Interesting that here, too, the statement is that only the one window was open.
"The 18-month-old girl was playing with her grandfather in a dining hall on deck 11 of the Freedom of the Seas, Port Authority spokesman José Carmona said. The dining area has large windows, and one pane was open."
I suppose one could question how likely it was that the grandfather just happened to pick that particular spot. Was it deliberate, he wanted to give himself and the child a clear view? If so, you'd think he would have held on tight plus most kids that age aren't interested in views but they are intrigued by banging on things as this child reportedly like to do.
OTOH, he may have subconsciously noticed that "window" looked cleaner and without thought was drawn to that space. Or where he stopped may have been totally random. Tragic accidents sometimes do happen when a number of variables just happen to come together in an unlikely combination.
Last edited by EveryLady; 07-09-2019 at 02:36 PM..
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