2-3 minutes
Royal Caribbean has released video and still images appearing to show
that an Indiana man was aware a window on a cruise ship was open before
his granddaughter fell out of it to her death.
The cruise line released the surveillance video as part of its motion to
dismiss a lawsuit filed last month by the toddler's family.
The 18-month-old, Chloe Wiegand, fell to her death on July 8 in Puerto
Rico after her grandfather, Salvatore Anello, sat her on the window sill
in the dining hall on Deck 11 of the Freedom of the Seas and lost his
balance, Port Authority spokesman Jose Carmona said, according to CNN.
Anello said he didn't realize the window was open and Chloe slipped from
his grasp and fell to the deck 150 feet below, but Royal Caribbean said
in its motion to dismiss filed on Jan. 8 that video surveillance shows
Anello leaning out the window before picking up Chloe.
"When he arrives at the open window, and while Chloe is on the floor,
Mr. Anello leans his upper-torso over the wooden railing and out of the
window frame for approximately eight seconds," the motion to dismiss
reads. "Because Mr. Anello had himself leaned out the window, he was
well aware that the window was open."
Anello then picked Chloe up and lifted her "over the wooden rail towards the open window," it continued.
He held her up "for 34 seconds before he lost his grip and dropped Chloe out the window," Royal Caribbean added.
The family's attorney, Michael Winkleman, maintained that Anello "never
knew there was an open window" and called the motion "baseless and
deceptive."
"It is clear that Royal Caribbean's tactic is to blame Chloe's
grandfather rather than to accept that Royal Caribbean did not implement
industry standards for toddler safety aboard its ships which ultimately
led to Chloe's tragic death," Winkleman said in a statement Friday.
The family filed the lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court in
the Southern District of Florida, saying the cruise line failed to
protect Chloe by not installing a warning sign or safety devices on the
open window.
Anello also faces negligent homicide charges in Puerto Rico for his granddaughter's death.
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