Mother Says Stroller Protected Son When Wall Collapsed In Malden

MALDEN (CBS) - A Malden mother is speaking out about her ordeal after being hit by a falling wall while walking on Pleasant Street in Malden Tuesday.

Deepti Soni says she and her two year old son Tanush were walking home from the library when it suddenly happened, the 35-foot wall made of plywood and tin, hitting her on the head. "I'm just asking my son do you have any pain or anything like that. He said 'no I want to go home,'" she tells WBZ-TV.

She suffered a fracture in her neck that's left her in a brace after a gust of wind apparently pushed the wall over. Her son, she says, did not receive a scratch thanks to a sturdy stroller now with mangled wheels that took the brunt of the blow.

"I am thankful to God," said her husband Sudhil Soni. The wall was constructed in front of a soon-to-be Japanese restaurant to shield pedestrians from construction debris.

Now Deepti Soni is grateful to the good Samaritans who ran to help. "At that moment some people took care of us and said 'is your baby okay, are you okay?'"

Two other pedestrians were also pinned beneath the wall and expected to recover from their injuries. While strollers aren't the norm in their home country of India, the Soni family is now glad to be well equipped. "Here I'm very happy I bought a stroller, I bought a car seat and my kid is totally safe," said Sudhil Soni.

The Malden building inspector is taking a closer look at how the accident happened, and the Soni family is also hoping for some answers.