VERONA BEACH, N.Y. – A 6-year-old girl reaching for scissors on top of a refrigerator died when she fell from a chair and the blades stabbed her in her neck, police said.
Kayleigh C. Cochis wanted the scissors to cut off gum stuck in her hair.
She was standing on a wheeled, office-style chair when it moved and she lost her balance Friday night, according to state police investigator Dennis Dougherty.
She was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The girl's parents and her 5-year-old brother were in the house about 25 miles northeast of Syracuse, but no one saw Kayleigh fall, Dougherty said.
Counseling will be available Monday for her classmates at Sylvan-Verona Beach Elementary School, principal Moira Yardley said.
"We are deeply, deeply saddened by the tragedy," said Moira Yardley, the school's principal. "Our hearts go out to the family."