How boy fell into trash chute unclear

An 8-year-old boy seriously injured Wednesday night in a fall down a trash chute at a state housing project in Kalihi was recuperating Thursday at the Queen’s Medical Center.

Paramedics responding to a call at Tower A of Towers at Kuhio Park, 1545 Lina­puni St., said the boy fell from the 12th-floor chute, but officials have not been able to confirm that.

Police found the boy in a dumpster at the bottom of the chute and directed fire crews who took the boy out, said fire Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang.

“They went in and stabilized the child, who had a traumatic injury to the leg,” he said.

“It’s unknown what floor the child fell from,” Ah Mook Sang said. “The family lives on the 12th floor, but they can’t confirm that’s where the child fell from.”

Police said they are sorting out what happened.

The small door that covers the metal garbage chute swings down, making it difficult to climb into.

Lorenzo Leae, 23, who lives two doors down from the boy, said, “He’s a good kid. He knows what he’s doing. He usually takes out the trash.”

Police provided few details, but residents gave various accounts of the incident and their takes on what happened.

“There is no way a kid could have fallen in there,” Ricky Kutta, 30, who lives in an apartment next to the 12th-floor chute. “There’s foul play. Somebody pushed him in.”

Mertalee West, 12, a tower resident, said her cousin told her the boy’s mother was asleep when he went out to the trash chute. A man dumping his garbage heard crying and reported it, she said.

Karlet Saingo, 6, who lives on the 11th floor, said the boy and his sister were throwing out trash. “He was holding the bucket. He grabbed on the bucket” and went down with it.

The housing complex is owned by Michaels Development Co., which completed a two-year, $135 million construction project earlier this month.

Michaels Development owns the buildings as part of a private-public partnership and has a long-term lease on the land from the state. The Hawaii Public Housing Authority oversees the property.

Officials of Michaels’ subsidiary Interstate Realty Management Co., which manages the housing complex, did not return phone calls from the Star-Advertiser.

“As for the incident involving the child and the trash chute, I can confirm that this did happen and that we were very saddened to learn this, and are relieved and happy to know that the child is expected to be OK,” said Laura Ochi­pinti Zaner, spokes­woman for New Jersey-based Michaels Development Co.

“We have been reaching out to the family to help them in any way that we can. We are assisting the police in their investigation and will be doing a full internal investigation of this incident as well,” she said.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.