2-year-old Kayson Shelton from Utah was killed when a metal statue of a dolphin fell on him Monday. He and his family were visiting San Francisco on vacation. They were in the city’s Fisherman’s Wharf district when the incident occurred.
Police responded to the scene at the 200 block of Jefferson Street around 11:30 a.m. on Friday. CBS News reports that Officer Gordon Shyy said that the toddler was playing around the 6-foot-tall statue outside Majestic Collection Art Gallery. He climbed up and wrapped his arms and legs around the statue, bringing it down on top of him.
Kayson’s father, Scott Sheton, told NBC Bay Area, “I think any 2-year-old would go towards anything like that.”
Paramedics arrived and took Kayson to San Francisco General Hospital. At first, he only had a bloody nose, and did not seem to be seriously injured. He suffered from internal injuries, and was pronounced dead four hours after the accident.
Police say that statue wasn’t supposed to be outside. City code states that stores along the street are prohibited from putting displays and large objects on the sidewalk. The storeowners were given a citation for the incident, but police have not yet set a specific punishment.