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Tragedy: Toddler Drowns in Toilet in Borough Park

Yeshiva World News

A 1-year-old Monsey boy r”l drowned in a toilet on the second night of Rosh Hashanah, while spending Yom Tov in Borough Park.

Mendi Altman, who was just 14-months-old, was found face down in the toilet by his 13-year-old cousin at about 11 p.m. inside his aunt’s home on 11th Avenue in Borough Park, cops said.

The tragic tot’s family was visiting his mother’s sister from Monsey and her family for Yom Tov. The father was in Uman for Yom Tov.

Police said that there were no signs of trauma and absolutely no criminality is suspected in his tragic death – the children were put to sleep and at one point the adults checked and the children were fine.

Mendi was one of seven siblings.

The Levaya will be today (Wednesday) in Borough Park.

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26 Comments

  • Close the bathroom doors

    Please close your bathroom door so that they won’t gain easy access to it .

  • Dave wishing my deepest condolences

    Look at that. Such a tragedy striking a family, who would have known a toddler would crawl off to a toilet and stick his body inside. I don’t know if this is a lesson to always lock doors to anything that might lead a baby to some unknown adventure in the home. I mean anything innocent can lead to a surprising unfathomable tragedy. Anything.

  • a friend

    the little boy, was born on gimmel Tamuz, and was named Menachem Mendel…….the whole family, are very special people……may Hashem give them the strength to get through this very difficult times.

  • BDE

    BDE, BDE.
    there are special toilet locks available from Child Safety companies. How sad and tragic, my heart is with the family, may they get the support they need to get through this painful time.

  • wow!

    i feel really bad for the family. how the hell does a baby drown in a toilet!!!! toilets are so small. i feel very bad for the family. Baruch Dayan Haemes. however, i do feel that they should be responsible and accountable for it as well. toddlers LOVE to explore and get into everything. if they chose to have kids, they should watch them well and be good/appropriate parents instead of sitting and reading torah books. these are your kids – act responsible!

  • mother

    #10 – YOU GROW UP!!! How dare you add to this family’s pain. Who knows what happened? and can you tell me this wouldn’t happen if a parent is watching the mets or the latest flick on netflicks! We must pray that each day our kids are kept safe! Of course I am sure they took appropriate safety measures!

  • gevald!!

    All chachomim with advice to the parents about locking bathroom doors have their heads, well … in the toilet! Unless you model drinking out of a toilet for your children, who in their right mind thinks of such a thing!?! It is a tragedy, and that’s all there is to it! Save your advice for your own children who are messed up.

  • Sorrowful Bubby

    To #10.

    It was the middle of the night. Everyone was sleeping except this child. Terrible, horrific accident. You are clearly an armchair quarterback, not a parent, and totally insensitive. My heart goes out to the family. So should yours. And for the future, think before you comment, words like yours are cruel, heartless and unnecessary.

  • to #11

    I am number 10. I definitely feel bad for the family. No family should have to go through that or any type of death of a family member. I hope they find comfort soon. However, my response was watching, in my opinion, parents kind of neglecting their responsibilities. You see parents walking with their little children, completely ignoring them. Instead of behaving as they should, responsible parents, they give that responsibility to their little kids. Kids are kids for a reason. They lack maturity, good judgment, etc. If frum families want to have kids, thats wonderful. But step up to the responsibility and act like a damn parent! Your kids come first! not studying religion!

  • to number 10

    I really hope the parents are not reading your retarded comment because it must be the worst kind of sin possible to cause that much anguish and extra pain to parents who are already grieving.
    I pray that your children will always remain safe no matter how many safety precautions you do or do not take.

  • BDE

    BDE THIS IS SUCH A SAD STORY I MET THE MOM ONCE AND SHE WAS THE MOST SWEETEST PERSON .. MY HEART GOES OUT TO HER AND HER FAMILY

  • Shay

    So so sad, my heart goes out to this family, this is not neglect, it’s a horrible freak accident! There is no blame here, it’s a terrible tragedy:(

  • Tragedy almost happened to me

    When I was almost two years old,I still was not really walking yet. We were in the backyard one day, and my mother turned around to do something. When she turned back to check on me, she could not find me. Finally she spotted me – guess where? I was climbing up the ladder, headed right to the roof! She was scared to scream or do anything that might cause me to fall. When my father, who was working up there, saw my hand – “My heart was in my mouth!” So he crawled over and got me.

  • An onlooker

    This mother happens to be the most loving and caring person. A wonderful couple, a happy home where each child is cherished as a personal gift sent from heaven.

    May G-d send them the solace and strength to cope with the grief
    they must be going through.
    I dont wish it to my worst enemies

  • An onlooker

    This mother happens to be the most loving and caring person. A wonderful couple, a happy home where each child is cherished as a personal gift sent from heaven.

    May G-d send them the solace and strength to cope with the grief
    they must be going through.
    I dont wish it to my worst enemies

  • a friend

    to #10..or #14…
    it happens that i know the mother of the poor child, since she was born…..there is no one better and more caring then her!!! she put the kids to sleep, and checked on then several times!!!!
    who can know when a kid sneaks out of bed at 11.00 at night…
    may Hashem give them the strength to overcome this tragedy…

  • how sad

    wow how utterly sad i feel so bad. wow wow wow this makes me scared- what if this happened to my daughter? wow

  • afriend24

    People, sometimes sadness and tragedy can bring out anger in some people. #1 and #10 although they may seem insensitive are correct in a way (although they way they chose to express it was somewhat insensitive). As a parent of three now grown children I knew as a young mother that a toddler can drown in a very small amount of water. Never leave a child that age near an open bucket, an open toilet, the bath. The main reason is toddlers and physically top heavy and once upside down have a hard time righting themselves, thus drowning can occur. Please have mercy on this poor family. My heart goes out to all of them. And let us all learn from this as well.

  • to number 10

    u shouldnt be criticizing a family who just had a loss. bde. really tragic, give condolences to the family. we need mashiach!

  • to the parents, with love

    A precious neshama graced your home for just over a year. How terribly painful it must be that your baby boy has so quickly returned his neshama to Hashem. We all feel pain over this tragic loss, my heart goes out to you. May Hashem comfort you and all of klal Yisroel together with all the mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim. BD”E