5-week-old boy hospitalized with 'suspicious' injuries

A medic emerged from a Tacony rowhouse late yesterday morning cupping the head of a 5-week-old boy in one hand, the baby's body, tiny legs dangling blue and limp, supported on his arm.

The scene, described by neighbors in the 6300 block of Ditman Street, came after someone called 911 around 11:30 a.m. or earlier to report that something was terribly wrong with the infant.

The boy was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he remained last night, police said, in critical condition with cracked ribs, bruising all around the face, and a possible broken right leg.

The hospital called police, and detectives called the injuries "suspicious."

The city's Department of Human Services, which handles child-welfare cases, is also investigating, said agency spokeswoman Alicia Taylor.

There was no answer at the home where the boy's family lives, though there was a light on in a second-floor bedroom. Neighbors said the parents, described as in their 20s, were at the hospital.

Beth Witzer, 29, one of the neighbors, said the couple also have a 2-year-old daughter.

Witzer and another neighbor said they saw the medic carry the baby into the ambulance to be taken to the hospital.

The father, Witzer said, was "very hysterical" with anguish and accompanied his son to St. Christopher's. The mother, dressed only in a bath towel, stayed behind with her daughter.

Cristian Chacon, 24, who lives next door, said the father seemed very nice.

"I see the guy a lot with the daughter. He seemed very loving," Chacon said.

Some neighbors said the mother came across as reserved, but she also was seen playing with her daughter in front of their house. One neighbor said she thought both were "very nice people."

"It's still a shock," Chacon said. "Everybody around here wants to know what's going on."

Chacon said he was taking out the trash about 2:30 a.m. and he heard the baby crying.

At first he thought the baby was hungry. After the events of yesterday, he had his doubts about the child's injuries.

"I don't think it just happened," he said.