[StBernard] Man in critical condition after fall from balcony

[Westley Annis]

A man remained in critical condition Wednesday after falling from the
second-floor balcony of a Chalmette apartment complex early Tuesday,
authorities said. 

Christi Navidad Grant Ponce, 29, was taken to University Hospital in New
Orleans with severe head injuries after the 12:30 a.m. incident at 3015 Jean
Lafitte Parkway, where he had been staying for several days. The man was
found lying on the ground on a pillow and bed sheet, bleeding from his head,
ears and nose, the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office said in a news
release. 


Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann said sheriff's detectives were
investigating the incident but said little is known about the injured man's
background. 

A woman identified as the man's girlfriend, who spoke Spanish, said through
a translator that she was awakened by a loud noise while sleeping and said
Grant Ponce wasn't in the bed. She said the door leading outside to a
second-floor balcony was open and she saw him on the ground below. 

There wasn't a railing on the second-floor balcony, sheriff's officials
said.