“She was so loved”: Grieving parents of baby girl who fell to her death on cruise ship speak out
The grieving parents of baby girl Chloe Wiegand, who fell 45 metres to her death while on board a cruise ship, have revealed exactly what happened the moment the “unfathomable” tragedy occurred.
Sitting down with the US version of TODAY, Kimberley and her husband Alan Wiegand described the moment of horror during what was supposed to be a relaxing family holiday.
Kimberley Wiegand recounted the tragedy when she realised her daughter had fallen from an open window, hitting the concrete below. That was when she saw Chloe’s grandfather, Sam Anello, crying and banging on the window.
“I didn’t know that she went out a window,” she said through tears.
“I just saw Sam standing next to the wall of windows just screaming and banging on it. There was somebody from [the cruise ship] they kept trying to stop me. I just kept saying take me to my baby, where is my baby? I didn’t even notice the window,” she said.
“I looked over it and it wasn’t water down there; it was concrete. Honestly to lose our baby this way is just unfathomable.”
“The first 30 seconds of the day, I don’t remember what happened. And then, it comes back and I relive what happened.” Kimberly Wiegand says of her late 18-month-old daughter, Chloe, who died after falling from a cruise ship pic.twitter.com/VNoQ2RzvAC
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) 22 July 2019
“She could get anybody to smile… I just know that she was destined to do such great things, but even in her short life, I truly believe she changed so many lives.” Kimberly Wiegand says of her 18-month-old daughter, who died after falling from a cruise ship pic.twitter.com/vLtQQ5xwb1
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) 22 July 2019
“We have a lot of questions – primarily, ‘Why is there an open window in the kids’ play area 11 stories off the ground?’” Kimberly Wiegand, mother of 18-month-old Chloe, who died after falling from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship pic.twitter.com/CaN2AZNnjS
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) 22 July 2019
The couple spoke candidly about the unthinkable tragedy when they realised their one-year-old daughter had passed away, saying Mr Anello had been “very, very distraught” ever since.
“You can barely look at him without crying, she was his best friend,” said Alan.
Kimberley said the memory of her daughter lives on forever, but despite it all, she was forced to face flashbacks of the incident every morning when she woke up.
“The first 30 seconds of the day, I don’t remember what happened. And then, it comes back and I relive what happened,” she said. “The thing that I latch onto is her memory, she just exuded love.”
The grieving parents also have a few questions of their own, one of which is, “Why is there an open window in the kids’ play area 11 stories off the ground?”
They spoke fondly of their daughter, who they said was “so loved” and enjoyed gardening and watching her brother play hockey.
“She could get anybody to smile … I just know that she was destined to do such great things, but even in her short life, I truly believe she changed so many lives.”