In the Philadelphia Brewerytown neighborhood Saturday afternoon, a 3-year-old girl died when a metal security gate from an Italian ice shop fell onto her.

Around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Wynter Larkin and her mother Cheryl Larkin were outside of Rita's Water Ice storefront on Girard Ave. attending a fundraising event for the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and Omega Psi Phi fraternity. According to witnesses, the more than 1,000-pound metal roll-down security gate detached from the façade of Rita's and fell on top of Wynter.

The Philadelphia ABC news affiliate, WPVI-TV, reported that bystanders rushed to the little girl's aid, trying to lift the heavy gate. Others performed CPR once they retrieved the girl.

"The gentlemen from Omega Psi Phi were holding the awning up, and the little girl was on the ground and they were trying to resuscitate her," witness Kealy Dangerfield Enlow told the TV station.

Larkin was then rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital and died shortly after arrival, pronounced dead at 5:02 p.m.

Rita's Italian Ice, the Philadelphia shop's parent company, released a short statement Saturday following the deadly crash.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the child's family," Linda Duke, a spokeswoman for Rita's, told NBC Philadelphia. "Due to the current investigation, we really cannot comment about the unfortunate incident."

Members from Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections arrived soon after the accident and closed off Rita's Water Ice. According to L&I officials, there is no violation history associated with the gate, and inspections are usually only performed if there is a reported complaint. An investigation of the incident is underway.

Brewerytown is a northern neighborhood in Philadelphia, known for the large numbers of breweries located there during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially along the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River. Now it is a largely residential neighborhood.

Related