Arson investigators believe faulty wiring may have led to a blaze that claimed the life of a four-year-old boy.
The fire broke out around 11:38 p.m. Wednesday night and firefighters rushed to the scene. The only person left in the building when firefighters arrived was Omariya Dishman, 4. He was lying on the floor in the home's second bedroom.
Dishman was unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead at 12:37 a.m. at Silver Cross Hospital, according to the Will County Coroner’s office.
A preliminary autopsy revealed the boy died of smoke inhalation, though the official cause of death is pending police investigation and toxicology reports.
The boy's mother, Tina Wallace, who is wheelchair bound, fled the apartment before firefighters arrived.
She is being investigated for possible neglect, and could be charged in his death.
Residents of the 100 unit federal housing complex feel firefighters could have done more to save the little boy they describe as a sweet child.
Local
A spokesman for the Joliet Fire Department said firefighters did everything they could after discovering the boy unconscious on a bed in a second bedroom in the apartment.
