Laurel Toddler Falls 4 Stories From Balcony

A 23-month-old Laurel girl was in critical but stable condition after falling off a fourth-story apartment balcony early yesterday morning, police said.

The parents of Rene Saulsbury told police they awoke at about 4 a.m. yesterday to the sounds of a child crying. The parents, whose names were not available, said they searched the apartment in the 100 block of Charlotte Drive before realizing the sounds were coming from outside, police said.

Checking the balcony, they said, they looked down and saw the girl lying in the grass below. The father said he ran outside and found the child bleeding from the nose and mouth, police said.

The girl was flown by helicopter to Johns Hopkins Hospital. County police are investigating.