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Posted on Mon, Oct 22, 2012 : 4:09 p.m.

Officials: Saline student doing well after falling 30 feet in high school gymnasium

By John Counts

The 13-year-old boy who suffered a 30-foot fall from a balcony in the Saline High School gymnasium remains in stable condition at the hospital, school officials said Monday afternoon.

"The student seems to be doing well," Steve Laatsch, assistant superintendent of instructional services at Saline schools, said around 3:45 p.m.

The boy was alert and oriented to his surroundings. Laatsch said there were no reports of any broken bones or injuries to the student's head, which he said was positive. The student is still at the hospital, but it is not known whether he will stay overnight, Laatsch added.

School officials continue to investigate what exactly happened in the gym around 9 a.m. Monday. The 13-year-old was on a balcony in the gymnasium where there is a running track when he fell over a railing and landed 30 feet below on the gym floor. At the time, the seventh-grade boy was in a fitness class offered to students at the middle school, officials said.

The incident may have occurred as classes were in the process of switching, Laatsch said.

Parents of students in the class were notified of what happened, though parents district-wide were not because officials didn't feel there was an immediate threat or need, Laatsch said.

The boy was transported to the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital after the fall by HVA.

John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

Lisa

Mon, Oct 22, 2012 : 8:45 p.m.

Thank you for the update. I've been praying all day that this boy will recover.