Mom wakes to find her child dangling from a hole in the apartment floor

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    SANDY SPRINGS, Georgia (WGCL) — A Sandy Springs mother woke up Thursday morning to find her four-year-old son and dog falling through the floor of her apartment.

The 10-foot hole is now fixed but the renter says it took four months too many.

“So I jumped up, my heart is pounding, and I see my son hanging on for dear life,” Birdesha Weldon told CBS46.

Records show the Abernathy Apartment tenant reported fears of a falling floor as far back as December 2020 then once again in January and Weldon says those are just the ones submitted through the online portal.

She’s grateful the gaping hole is repaired but her trust in renters’ rights is not, after that scare of a lifetime.

“I could literally see him shaking. He was like mommy, ‘I almost died’ and I was like, ‘thank God you didn’t.'”

When Weldon found her four-year-old Ethan hanging onto the edge of the hole, she pulled him out in time but for the dog Milo, it was too late. Milo slammed into the ground, going silent for some time.

Fortunately, the fire department arrived and examined both the dog and child to only find bruises and scratches.

“Thank God he was strong enough to hold himself up until I jumped out of bed to get him but other than that, he probably would have fell through and God forbid broke a leg or arm or died.”

Weldon argues since the pandemic, properties like Abernathy Apartments have done fewer inspections and fewer follow ups all because of less state oversight.

CBS46 found, the state requires landlords to complete repairs within a ‘reasonable time.’ Renters’ rights allow them to sue if they can prove otherwise. But legal aids note it’s a case by case situation to identify what is ‘reasonable time’ and that documentation of repair requests is critical.

Weldon’s first repair request came more than four months ago, the mom believes that’s just four too long.

“He’s my responsibility. If anything happens to my son, I don’t know what I’ll do. So the simple things– like ‘hey I’m paying my rent and I’ve never been late–come fix the stuff. That’s y’all job.”

Maintenance crews fixed the floor Thursday morning, right after the whole debacle.

CBS46 reached out to Abernathy Apartments for comment on ensuring inspections and repairs, we are still waiting to hear back.

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