7-Year-Old Boy Left Alone in Del Mar Hotel Falls from Third-Story Window

An investigation was under way today in Del Mar, where a 7-year-old Korean boy visiting San Diego with his family apparently fell approximately 30 to 35 feet out a third-story hotel window, critically injuring himself.

The fall at the Clarion Del Mar Inn at 720 Camino Del Mar was reported at 6:21 p.m. Thursday, according to San Diego County sheriff's Sgt. Dustin Lopez.

The family told investigators that the boy was left alone to play in a hotel room when the fall occurred, Lopez said in a statement, adding family members discovered he had fallen after they went to check on him.

"It is unknown if the window was previously open or opened by the child prior to the fall," he said, adding that the boy landed on an asphalt parking lot.

Paramedics airlifted him to Rady Children's Hospital to treat a broken femur and major head trauma, according to the sergeant, who described the boy's condition as "critical."

The Sheriff's Child Abuse Unit was handling the investigation.