A young boy was discovered dead on top of scaffolding in The Bronx last night, according to the NYPD. Investigators believe he toppled off the roof of a 46-floor building.
Cops say they found the boy, identified as nine-year-old Sidy Fofana, at around 5 p.m. on top of scaffolding at 20 Richman Plaza, a 46-story high rise in Morris Heights. Sidy, who lived at that address, was declared dead at the scene.
Witnesses told the Daily News Sidy fell from the 26th floor. "Two guys were shouting ‘Oh s---! A body! A body!’ I looked up and I saw. He landed on the scaffold,” Marlene Mevlin, who lives in the building, told the tabloid. “That was a very big boy.”
Family members, meanwhile, say that Sidy—who was a fourth grader at Harlem Success Academy—was sent from his 4th floor apartment to his uncle's apartment on the 43rd floor to pick up money for chicken wings and french fries. "He said, 'Mommy, I can go and I'll come back," Sidy's mother, Sanata Diakite, told DNAinfo. "He just wanted to get the food for his uncle." Diakite was informed of her son's death at around 5:15 p.m. yesterday. "They asked me what my son looked like and how old he was and what my son was wearing. They showed me the picture of my son's body and asked if that was my son. That was him! That was him!"
Authorities say they are investigating the boy's death, and reportedly believe Sidy may have fallen off the building's roof. Sidy's father, Gaoussou Fofana, told reporters there was no lock or alarm on the roof, though he was not aware of any instance in which his son had tried to access it before.
Sidy, who had four siblings, is expected to be buried in New Jersey.
