An 8-year-old Missouri boy, Cortez “CJ” Williams Jr., was playing at his mother’s home when a swing set collapsed on him. He seemed fine at first, but one hour later, he collapsed and eventually died.
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As reported by KSDK, the incident occurred on Sunday, September 21. At the time, CJ was at his mother’s home, located on Larimore Road in St. Louis. While he played in the backyard, a swing set collapsed on top of him, to the horror of his family members.
CJ’s father, Cortez Williams Sr., received a FaceTime call from his daughter, who was crying after the swing set collapse. Williams was out of town at the time and had just dropped off CJ at his mother’s home earlier in the day.
“The only thing that was going through my mind was to make it home to him,” Williams said.
CJ’s family managed to pull him from the collapsed swing set, where a metal bar was pinning his thigh down. While the accident seemed serious, CJ appeared not to have suffered serious injuries at first.
“They said he was talking, responding, asking for water and something to eat,” Williams added. “The only thing he kept saying was that he wanted to go to sleep.”
A Tragedy
CJ wasn’t bleeding and was walking normally, with only one “little scratch on his stomach.” However, everything changed when the 8-year-old went to take a nap while his mother was making him some food. At one moment, CJ became quiet, and his family found him unresponsive.
At around 6 p.m., first responders arrived at the Larimore Road residence. The boy was rushed to a local hospital, but tragically, Cortez “CJ” Williams Jr. was pronounced dead shortly after.
This heartbreaking event marks the second time Williams has suffered something like this. As per the outlet, he lost his 21-year-old son back in 2018 during a shooting.
“It’s pain that’ll never go away,” Williams added. “Because of his age… it’s just something that’ll never leave.”
The grieving father called CJ a “joyful kid” with the ability to make anyone smile. Now, he wants his loss to be a warning for parents who experience an accident similar to CJ’s.
“Any little thing happen with your kids, just take them to the hospital,” Williams said. “The risk of not taking them is… you see the pain I’m in, it’s a bad risk. I don’t want anybody to have to go through this. I’m trying my best, but it’s hard.”
A GoFundMe was launched to help support the Williams family and raise funds for CJ’s funeral expenses.
Authorities have yet to determine CJ’s exact cause of death.