MILWAUKEE -- The two-year-old that died after a tragic accident at his grandmother's house on Tuesday has been identified by family as Michael McCoy III. His nickname was Little Mike. They said he was a happy, smart and a very active toddler.
"I wish I could trade places with my baby,” said his mother Terry Harris-Lockhart. "I would in a second because he had a whole life to live. I don’t know how to tell his big sister that he’s gone. She’s five-years-old. She’s crying and I can’t do anything to help her. She doesn’t understand. None of us do, really."
Family and friends came together to pray, share memories and release balloons in the little boy’s honor on Wednesday.
They said Little Mike woke up from a nap at his grandmother's house on 40th Street between Wright and Meinecke. He climbed onto a shoebox to reach a first-floor window. As he was climbing through the window, his head and neck got stuck, leaving him hanging out of it. As a result, his air supply was restricted.
His 13 and 18-year-old uncles were babysitting him at the time.
“They couldn’t find him for about 15 minutes,” said Little Mike’s grandmother, Shawn Malone. “They didn’t know where he went. They never thought he’d be in the window. When they found him, he wasn’t breathing. I had to hold my 13-year-old all night. I was trying to help him understand it’s not his fault. He’s traumatized after finding the baby like that.”
Neighbors and emergency responders tried to resuscitate the toddler but were unsuccessful.
Now, his family hopes that others with young children will learn from their heartbreak and realize how quickly a horrible accident can happen.
