'Rest in peace little angel'

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Facebook Veronica and Flavio Romano with baby Lucca and four-year-old Massimo.

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Fifteen-month-old Lucca Romano, a mischievous, outgoing toddler who liked being the centre of attention, died Sunday after he wiggled out of his mother's arms and plummeted 15 metres at Toronto’s Pearson airport. The family had just moved to Ontario from Winnipeg 10 days earlier (CANWEST NEWS SERVICE / HANDOUT)

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- A former Winnipeg family embarking on a vacation Sunday has been left devastated after a toddler wiggled out of his mother's arms and suffered a fatal, 15-metre fall at Pearson International Airport.

A woman was standing beside a railing on the upper departures level in Terminal 1 and holding her 15-month-old boy when her other child distracted her, police said Monday.

Family friend Guillermo Bellido of Winnipeg identified the parents as Veronica and Flavio Romano and the children as Lucca and four-year-old Massimo.

About 10 days ago, the family moved from their Winnipeg home in River Park South to Burlington, Ont., where Veronica's brother lives.

They were headed to Buenos Aires on Sunday night to reunite with family for Lucca's baptism. Veronica had just crossed security with Lucca and Massimo, and they were waiting for Flavio to get through when the accident happened.

"They are trying to grasp the magnitude of this tragedy," Bellido said. "You go by the minute."

Bellido, who met the Romanos when they first moved to Winnipeg a decade ago, said Lucca was a clone of his father, with light curly hair, green eyes and a joyful nature.

"He was mischievous. He was always looking for things to do. He was just the centre of attention," Bellido said. "Imagine the loss of a child, it's always horrible. But losing a child in this fashion is just horrendous."

A preliminary investigation, aided by witness accounts and video surveillance, suggests the mother lost her hold on Lucca and he plummeted over the rail, down to the lower-level arrivals area of the cavernous airport hub.

The tragic fall has been ruled an accident, Peel police Const. J.P. Valade said.

"We've been able to determine the child was in his mother's arms. There was a four-year-old sibling that was nearby," Valade said.

"When the mother turned to pay some attention to the four-year-old, the 15-month-old was able to sort of wiggle out of her arms and she lost her grip on the child and he fell over the balcony."

A small makeshift memorial was growing at the scene Monday. "Rest in peace little angel," was among the messages scrawled on a card and placed among the flowers and stuffed animals.

The family is "absolutely devastated, as would anyone be at the loss of a child," Valade added.

Police got a 911 call about 7:20 p.m. Sunday and went to the scene with fire officials and ambulance personnel. The boy was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Several witnesses were interviewed at the airport and police have a "great deal" of video surveillance footage, Valade said.

Brad Givoque said he saw the boy's father run to be at his son's side.

"He had come running, I guess from upstairs," Givoque told CTV News.

"It looked like the longest run of his life, he just kind of fell to the floor."

Doug Ellis, whose wife witnessed the fall, said "people were there right away trying to save him and did everything they could to save his life."

Officials at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority said the balcony partition is built to code and called the fall an "isolated, tragic accident."

"The height of all railings at the airport meet the National Building Code," spokesman Scott Armstrong said.

Flavio Romano worked as a computer analyst at EDS Canada and was planning to attend McMaster University to finish his degree in computer science.

Veronica, who was a fitness instructor at GoodLife, got a transfer to Burlington and was going to support the family while her husband finished his degree.

Bellido says those plans will likely be put on hold while the family copes with the tragedy.

That's why he and friends from the local Argentine community have set up a trust fund at TD Canada Trust at 1631 St. Mary's Rd.

"We, as friends of Flavio and Veronica, we are trying to make them know that we are all thinking of them," Bellido said. "This is a tragedy that can happen to any of us. None of us is exempt from tragedy or accidents."

The Romanos will take Lucca's remains to Argentina for burial.

-- The Canadian Press, with files from Mary Agnes Welch

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 24, 2009 A3