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Chloe died from Deck 11 of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Freedom of the Seas, while she was moored in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sunday, according to José Carmona, spokesman for the Royal Caribbean. local port authority. Chloe is the child of Alan Wiegand, South Bend Police Officer, and Kimberly Wiegand, according to the Indiana Police Department. Chloe had arrived in San Juan from the mainland with her parents, siblings and four grandparents.
Winkleman said that he had been retained by the family on Monday to "set the record straight." As he describes it, the tragic death of the youngest child differs from most of the original reports that surround the Internet.
Chloe and her grandfather, Sam Anello, were "in the water park aboard the boat, which is designed for children – the kids are supposed to be there," said Winkleman. "And there's a whole wall of windows, and the grandfather thought this window was closed, and it turns out that we've come to learn that … the passengers can open those windows."
"You have a wall of windows with a hidden hole," said Winkleman. Unknowingly, then, the grandfather places Chloe on the wooden railing in front of the wall of the windows, believing that Chloe will bang on the window as she does at her brother's hockey games, "and the next thing that He knows, she's gone. "
After talking with the grandfather, who was "hysterically crying," Winkleman said he felt it was "an avoidable incident."
No alcohol was involved, added Winkleman.
"Children falling from windows are not new," he said. "Some federal laws and federal standards are designed to specifically prevent this, for example, the use of screens, the use of grids, the limitation of the number of windows that can be opened."
Royal Caribbean Cruises said in a statement on Monday that he was not considering further commenting on this incident, in respect of the family's privacy: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident of Yesterday and our heart goes out to the family.We have our care team is available to help the family with the resources it needs. "
CNN on Tuesday asked Royal Caribbean and the Porto Ports Authority to comment on Winkleman's statements. The island's Department of Public Security said officials were investigating the death.
An old ship
Winkleman noted that the ship Freedom of the Seas, which had made its maiden voyage in 2006, is older and that none of the newest ships have similar windows that can be opened in the same way.
"I think Royal Caribbean has to answer these questions: why would you ever want to put in a children's play area that passengers can open? I mean, we've all had this experience where someone walks in a sliding glass door thinking that it is not there.It's the opposite of that.It was reasonable that grandpa Sam thinks that everything was glass, because from his point of view, everything glass. "
Winkleman hopes to have access to the ship and surveillance footage of the incident.
"In my opinion, in such cases, video is always the key," he said.
The family remains in Puerto Rico, pending the release of their daughter's body by the authorities and the due diligence of the police during the investigation, he said.
In the end, the family does not want this incident to be "just a tragedy," said their lawyer, who described Chloe as "a sweet and loving girl." Instead, the Wiegands hope to ensure that this will never happen in another family.
"I think there's going to be a major blame and blame on the cruise company," Winkleman said. "I will do my best to hold them accountable for what seems to me to be negligence."
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